default

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>

Fitch Threatens to Downgrade US, Too

Joins S&P and Moody's

(Newser) - The third major bond rating agency joined the chorus warning that the US is in danger of losing its AAA credit rating today. Fitch Ratings said it was placing US in the “ratings watch negative” category, which according to Politico can lead to a downgrade in three to six...

Moody's Warns It May Lower US Credit Rating

Agency getting antsy about the risk of default

(Newser) - Tick tock on those debt ceiling talks: Moody's is threatening to lower the United States' credit rating, saying there is a small but rising risk that the government will default on its debt. The credit rating agency says it will review the federal government's triple-A bond rating because...

Your New Debt-Deal Deadline: July 22

White House says agreement needed by then to avoid default

(Newser) - The date for what may or may not be financial doomsday is now July 22. Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times say the White House has figured that to be the do-or-die day to hammer out a deal with Republicans to avoid an unprecedented default on...

Big Biz, Tea Party Diverge in Debt Debate

Chamber seeks compromise, Tea Party says 'hell no'

(Newser) - A rift between big business and the Tea Party movement is growing as the very real prospect of America defaulting on its debt looms, the Christian Science Monitor finds. The federal government hit the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling yesterday, and while Tea Party-backed lawmakers are sticking to their guns...

Shutdown Averted, Higher Stakes Loom

Battles brewing over debt ceiling, 2012 budget will be even bigger

(Newser) - If you think the narrowly averted government shutdown over a few billion dollars was bad, wait until you see the multi-trillion-dollar brawls coming in the next few weeks, reports the Wall Street Journal . First up, the government is about to hit its legally imposed $14.294 trillion debt ceiling by...

Investors Bet Big On BP Default
 Wall St. Bets Big on BP Default 
odds shoot up to 39%

Wall St. Bets Big on BP Default

Credit-default swaps predict 39% chance of failure

(Newser) - Wall Street oddsmakers think BP has a 39% chance of defaulting on its credit in the next five years, based on the skyrocketing price of the company’s credit default swaps. A month ago, investors had priced in just a 7% risk of default. “There’s still so much...

Bankrupt Companies Now Look Like Great Bargains

Improving economy pulls companies from the brink

(Newser) - For big, public companies, it's a good time to be bankrupt. With earnings skyrocketing—77% of the S&P 500 has beaten expectations so far this quarter—a lot of companies that had been left for dead suddenly have life, and their shareholders have a fighting chance of keeping their...

Will Cash-Rich Abu Dhabi Bail Out Profligate Dubai?

Weak UAE statement stokes fears of tension between emirates

(Newser) - The United Arab Emirates’ vaguely-worded statement of support yesterday for Dubai—which didn’t actually mention the city-state by name—isn’t reassuring investors, who fear rocky relations between emirates, the cash-strapped Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi. The latter could easily wipe out Dubai World’s delinquent $59 billion debt,...

Tribal Casino Defaults May Sink Creditors
Tribal Casino Defaults
May Sink Creditors  
whose law applies?

Tribal Casino Defaults May Sink Creditors

Foxwood failure sparks debate over 'sovereign nation' status

(Newser) - As the Native American tribe that own the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut looks poised to become the biggest defaulter yet on tribal casino debt, holders of billions of dollars of tribal debt are questioning whether US laws apply to tribes operating as sovereign nations. “With casinos such as...

Serena Really Sorry This Time

'I admit when I'm wrong,' Williams says

(Newser) - Serena Williams, who offered no apologies in her postmatch press conference Saturday, issued a statement today on her website reversing direction, the Los Angeles Times reports. “I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA, and tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst,”...

Redskins Sue Cash-Strapped Fans, Win Millions

Team has sued 125 fans, made $2 million

(Newser) - Over the last 5 years, the Washington Redskins have won $2 million in judgments after suing 125 season ticket holders who wanted out of their multiyear contracts, the Washington Post reports. Many say they’re loyal fans who simply fell on hard times, but the Redskins insist that lawsuits are...

Despite Obama Push, Banks Often Prefer Foreclosing

(Newser) - There’s a big problem with government efforts to keep delinquents in their homes by modifying mortgages: Banks would usually rather foreclose, economists tell the Washington Post. Lenders are only interested in modification for the small group of borrowers who will keep paying only if they get help. For those...

What Not to Put on Plastic

 What Not to Put on Plastic 

What Not to Put on Plastic

(Newser) - Credit card companies know more about you than you think—and if they think you're financially stressed, you're in trouble. American Public Media lists 10 "red-flag" purchases that you shouldn't make with plastic unless you want to give your credit card company the jitters.
  • Traffic tickets: These make you
...

Edgy Banks Crack Down on Revolving Credit Lines
Edgy Banks Crack Down on Revolving Credit Lines
ANALYSIS

Edgy Banks Crack Down on Revolving Credit Lines

Shorter loan maturities, higher interest rates make 'safety nets' less safe for businesses

(Newser) - Banks, lashed by the credit crunch and wary of defaults, have shortened the terms on revolving credit lines—typically running for 3 or 5 years—to less than a year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Often a little-used safety net before the recession, so-called revolvers had low interest rates; now,...

AIG Honchos Quit Paris Office, Spurring Fears of Default

$234B at stake as top managers walk

(Newser) - Two of the top managers at AIG's Paris unit have resigned, reports the Wall Street Journal, leaving the insurer scrambling to avoid potential defaults on $234 billion in derivative transactions. The complicated scenario results from a French law that says regulators must approve of the managers' replacements or else pick...

Moody's Names 283 Companies Likely to Default

(Newser) - Credit-ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service today released what it calls “The Bottom Rung,” a list of 283 companies—15% of all those it tracks—it says are most likely to default on their debts. Moody’s has been widely lambasted for failing to catch the credit problems...

Most Foreclosures Come From a Few Counties
Most Foreclosures Come From a Few Counties
ANALYSIS

Most Foreclosures Come From a Few Counties

Crisis affects former boom areas the most

(Newser) - The majority of US home foreclosures last year happened in just 35 counties, USA Today reports. Though the effects of the mortgage crisis have been felt nationwide, foreclosures have been from the start clustered in formerly booming areas in Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona, and around Washington DC. The 35 most-affected...

AmEx to Clients: Here's $300, Now Get Lost

Credit card firm looks to limit exposure

(Newser) - American Express is offering some of its customers $300 to pay their balance and close their accounts, Reuters reports. The firm has been hit with staggering losses, exacerbated by their expansion in recent years to less well-heeled customers. American Express declined to say how many customers had received the buyout...

Sloppy Lehman Bankruptcy Killed Billions in Value

Speedy process leaves creditors hanging

(Newser) - Had Lehman Brothers been more careful in its bankruptcy filing, it could have held on to as much as $75 billion that was destroyed in the process, the firm’s head restructuring agents say. A better-planned filing would have allowed the sale of some assets outside of court proceedings and...

Crisis Looms for Credit Cards
 Crisis Looms for Credit Cards 
ANALYSIS

Crisis Looms for Credit Cards

Soaring defaults could fell normally resilient industry

(Newser) - Credit cards may be the next industry to be pummeled by the financial crisis, Time reports. The charge-off rate—money that lenders don't think they'll collect—is set to hit 10% in 2009. That's double the rate of the last decade and amounts to $96 billion in unpaid debt. Typically...

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser