Detroit bankruptcy

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Judge OKs Detroit Plan to Exit Bankruptcy

Move will end largest case in US history

(Newser) - A judge today approved Detroit's plan to get out of bankruptcy, ending the largest public filing in US history. The move launches the city into a turnaround that will require discipline after years of corruption, budget-busting debt, and an exodus of residents. Detroit is cutting the pensions of general...

Michigan Tosses Detroit a $195M Life Raft

But pensioners still need to sign off on 'grand bargain'

(Newser) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will today sign a bill giving Detroit $194.5 million as part of a "grand bargain" designed to lift the city out of bankruptcy, the Free Press reports. That money, combined with $370 million from charitable foundations and $100 million from the Detroit Institute of...

Detroit's Hot New Economy: Misery Tourism

Step right up and see all the depressing, abandoned buildings!

(Newser) - Detroit's economy is famously not exactly booming, but the city does have one burgeoning industry: Tourism. Since the city declared bankruptcy , hotels tell the LA Times that they've seen more visitors coming intent on gawking at some of the city's roughly 78,000 abandoned buildings. Restaurants in...

Judge OKs Detroit Bankruptcy, Pension Cuts

Judge says filing was 'foregone conclusion'

(Newser) - A federal judge today gave Detroit the bankruptcy protection it sought, dismissing challenges from banks and labor unions, the Detroit News reports. Vested pensions aren't subject to any special protections either, Judge Steven Rhodes said; they're just contracts like any other, and "it has long been understood...

Save Detroit. Sell it to Canada
 Save Detroit. 
 Sell It to Canada 
OPINION

Save Detroit. Sell It to Canada

Land, art, giraffes—everything must go, writes John H. Fund

(Newser) - How can we save Detroit? Maybe with the mother of all yard sales, suggests John H. Fund in the American Spectator . The Detroit Institute of Arts' collection is worth some $2.5 billion, Belle Isle could be sold to investors as a "mini-Hong Kong" for $1 billion, and even...

Detroit Paying $275 an Hour for Bankruptcy Analyst, 22

Not everyone is thrilled with the revelation

(Newser) - Poor Wade P. Johnson: On the face of it, he's doing things exactly right. The 2012 Michigan State University grad landed a job in June as a financial analyst with Conway MacKenzie, a consulting company that's working on Detroit's restructuring. But to some he's become yet...

We've Got a Choice: Schools or Nursing Homes?
We've Got a Choice:
Schools or Nursing Homes?
OPINION

We've Got a Choice: Schools or Nursing Homes?

Robert Samuelson doesn't think our economy is strong enough to pay pensions

(Newser) - If anyone tries to tell you that Detroit's bankruptcy is an isolated incident, "don't be fooled," writes Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post . The truth is that for governments across the country, "the scramble for scarce resources is intensifying. Schools compete with nursing homes."...

Judge: Detroit Bankruptcy Can Go Ahead

Lawsuits from unions, retirees put on ice

(Newser) - Detroit's bankruptcy will charge ahead unhindered by lawsuits from retirees, a judge declared today. Federal bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes froze a number of lawsuits against the city and cleared the way for the bankruptcy to proceed, the Detroit News reports. Union lawyers asked Rhodes to stop the bankruptcy, on...

Who Killed the Motor City?

 Who Killed the 
 Motor City? 
OPINION

Who Killed the Motor City?

Pundits weigh in on what doomed Detroit

(Newser) - In the wake of Detroit's bankruptcy a lot of fingers are being pointed. The city's been locked in a well-documented downward spiral , but whose fault is that? Here are what some pundits are saying:
  • Racism and corporate greed were the main culprits, argues Mark Binelli at the Guardian
...

Michigan Judge: Bankruptcy Unconstitutional

She orders it withdrawn, and state appeals

(Newser) - One little snag emerged today regarding Detroit's bankruptcy filing: A county judge declared the move unconstitutional and ordered the bankruptcy withdrawn, reports the Detroit Free Press . Judge Rosemary Aquilina also slammed the "rush to bankruptcy court" as unfair to the city's pension boards, which were in the...

Detroit Mayor: We'll 'Have to Make the Best of It'

After city files for Chapter 9 bankruptcy

(Newser) - The emergency manager who filed Detroit's historic bankruptcy today says residents don't have to worry about basic services getting cut in the interim, reports WXYZ . "Nothing changes from the standpoint of the average citizen's perspective," says Kevyn Orr. At a joint news conference, Mayor Dave...

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy
 Detroit Files for Bankruptcy 

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy

It's the biggest municipal filing in the nation's history

(Newser) - Detroit just entered the record books for all the wrong reasons. The city's emergency manager today filed what is the biggest municipal bankruptcy in the nation's history, reports the Detroit Free Press . The city is seeking Chapter 9 protection from creditors owed about $18.5 billion. (The exact...

Detroit in Completely Awful Shape: New Report

Emergency manager paints bleak picture

(Newser) - Detroit is broke and faces a bleak future given the precarious financial path it's on, according to a new report out by the city's state-appointed emergency manager , bankruptcy attorney Kevyn Orr. The report, released last night, is his first on Detroit's finances since officially taking the job...

Michigan Governor to Declare Detroit Emergency

Announcement expected at noon today

(Newser) - Ah, Detroit—it's miserable , murderous , and, as of noon local time today, likely officially in a state of financial emergency. Per Mayor Dave Bing, Gov. Rick Snyder is set to declare that emergency today, which is expected to result in Snyder appointing a financial manager who will seize hold...

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