Markets did a lot better this morning after oil prices, which had reached historic lows earlier in the week, seemed to be making a recovery. CNBC reported that, as of 12:07 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by more than 400 points, while the S&P 500 gained 2 percent and the Nasdaq grew by 2.3 percent. Traders were mostly reacting to news that U.S. oil futures had gained 21 percent since their recent drubbing, while barrels of Brent crude oil (another type of oil) increased by 9 percent.

CNBC noted, however, that given oil's historic drop, these still represent prices far below what the industry has long maintained. It added that this sudden rise might be based on recent saber-rattling from the White House, presumably because a naval conflict would increase demand for oil. However, this still doesn't change the fact that, right now, the world is running out of places to physically store oil, which is part of why prices have been cratering.

Whether or not oil prices recover, the industry has already faced terrible damage, according to Bloomberg, particularly where it concerns shale drilling. Companies have already shut down one in three drilling rigs, laid off 51,000 workers, and taken $31 billion from their drilling budgets. Given this circumstance, it perhaps should not be surprising that energy companies are projected to see a wave of bond defaults, as they are the biggest issuers of high-yield (read: risky) bonds on the market, making up 11 percent of all issuances. The energy sector has seen this debt further degrade over the last few weeks, to the point where $190 billion of it is now considered distressed, a rating even lower than junk.