Once you have searched the stores in your area as thoroughly as you possibly can and have convinced yourself that your idea is not currently being offered in the local stores, it is time to get online and begin an Internet market search. There are a couple of steps to be completed in this search in order to be thorough here and it will be a bit time-consuming, but it is not difficult. You will do a key word search and a catalog search. You will start your Internet search by making a list of key words that might be used to describe your invention. You will be searching through the links to see what products similar to your invention are being offered for sale on the Internet. Even if you feel strongly that no similar products exist, you will be surprised by what a key word search will turn up. Use the most descriptive words you can think of and get as specific as possible in the description. By this, we mean get right down to the most common descriptive words for your invention. For example, if your product is a kitchen gadget, it is far too broad to simply type in, “Kitchen Gadget.” This would bring up many more links than you would want, or need, to search. If the invention is designed for peeling grapes, say so. Type in, “Grape Peeler.” Then, as you begin to click on and follow the links that this brings up, you will find more words on those pages that will help you to reach even more links and get even more specific. For example, you may find words that are specific to that type of product – i.e. rind removal – that would lead you to entirely new links to explore.

Intuitively, the described long-term pattern contrasts with the much more cyclical behavior of credit spreads. Yet it should be noted that a large part of this deviation has to be attributed to changes in the databases of the rating agencies and the average quality of recent new issuance. When the database contains more investment grade companies, default rates naturally tend to be lower, and vice versa. Furthermore, historical data on default rates does not only reflect the broad credit cycle, but also changes in companies’ preferences towards bank debt and corporate issuance. When banks’ lending standards are particularly restrictive, especially companies with a lower credit quality may prefer to finance their business by issuing corporate bonds. For the high-yield market there is empirical evidence that the average maturity of outstanding debt is correlated with the probability of default. In other words, default probability changes over the life of a bond. While at the date of issuance the company has sufficient capital, there is often considerable uncertainty about the viability of the business model and future economic success. Together with the 1990/91 recession the enormous volume of junk bonds issuance that took place in the late 1980s is responsible for the peak in default rates in 1991. Consequently, default rate data provided by the rating agencies is not a very pure indicator of credit conditions through time.