Credit spreads or risk premiums on high-yield debt have risen by a record amount at the beginning of this year, underscoring the extent to which investors' appetite for risk has diminished amid the credit crisis, according to new research.

In a report entitled "Ten Days That Shook the World", Martin Fridson, chief executive of specialist credit research firm FridsonVision, said the high-yield risk premium has risen by more in the first 10 days of this year than over the same period in any previous year.