LONDON (Reuters) - The amount of debt issued by governments and companies around the world is expected to dip to $8 trillion this year, credit rating firm S&P Global has estimated. The amount would be down roughly 3% from 2020’s record high when countries and companies borrowed heavily to plug the holes the coronavirus left in their finances, but it would still be nearly 15% higher than pre-COVID levels. “Despite a likely decline, supporting factors for issuance in the year ahead include still-favorable financing conditions,” S&P said in a report, “anchored by increasing amounts of sovereign debt with negative yields, and a rejuvenated merger and acquisition pipeline for corporations.”