debt

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30 Years of Bail Jumpers Owe Philly $1B

Outstanding payments date back to the 1970s

(Newser) - Criminal defendants who skipped court dates in Philadelphia owe the city a total of $1 billion, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. For decades, the city has done little to try to collect full bail payments from those who don’t show. Critics say the system is farcical. “Bail judgments just...

Credit-Addicted Family Faces Life on $550 a Month

On top of the list: no restaurants

(Newser) - His wife kicked him out for 9 months for overspending. Now W. Hodding Carter is helping his family try the unthinkable: living within their means. Saddled with credit-card debt after years of pricey counter tops and dreams of wealth, Carter’s family of six plans to make do with their...

Expert on Vanishing Acts Sees Rising Demand

(Newser) - Frank Ahearn just may be the world's top expert on vanishing without a trace—either finding people who have done so or helping others pull off the trick. In a profile of him and his craft, the Times of London notes that the California man has gotten so many inquiries...

Minneapolis Newspaper Files for Bankruptcy

Star Tribune , overwhelmed by debt, plans to keep operating under reorganization

(Newser) - The Minneapolis Star Tribune has filed for bankruptcy protection after missing payments to creditors, the paper reports. Like most other 3-D news outlets, the 15th-largest daily in the country has seen a steep decline in advertising revenue. The Chapter 11 filing shows assets of $493.2 million and debt of...

Scamsters Cash In on Foreclosure Crisis

Phony rescuers collect big upfront fees from desperate homeowners

(Newser) - A new breed of crook is getting rich preying on homeowners desperate to fend off foreclosure, the New York Times reports. Scamsters set themselves up as "foreclosure rescue companies,” collect big upfront fees for the promise to modify loans, then do little or nothing to help. Some people...

Billionaire Merckle Kills Self
 Billionaire Merckle Kills Self 
Jan 6, 2009 1:31 PM CST

Billionaire Merckle Kills Self

(Newser) - German businessman Adolf Merckle, 74, killed himself yesterday in the face of mounting debt and a crumbling multibillion dollar empire, Bloomberg reports. Merckle’s personal fortune of $9.2 billion put him 94th on Forbes' list of the world’s richest people, but his holding company, which owned stake in...

Like the Big 3, Detroit Is Dying
 Like the 
 Big 3, 
 Detroit 
 Is Dying 
analysis
Dec 26, 2008 7:37 PM CST

Like the Big 3, Detroit Is Dying

(Newser) - The Big Three automakers are broke and begging for cash, but that's typical when you're from Detroit, Matt Labash writes in The Weekly Standard. He prepped for his visit to Dysfunction Junction by reading nightmarish stats: The city has 10,000 unsolved murders; its deficit is as high as...

Aussie Repays £5 Debt—40 Years Late

(Newser) - An Englishman was surprised to come home and discover a £5 loan repaid nearly 40 years late, the BBC reports. In 1969, Jim Webb loaned an Australian traveler the money to help him get to England. The Aussie took Webb's address but never sent him the money as promised....

Jittery About Loss, Investors Stuff Cash In 0% T-Bills

Willing to take nothing for their money

(Newser) - The results of yesterday’s short-term bond auction were staggering. Investors snapped up $30 billion worth of Treasuries at a 0% yield—essentially lending the government money for free, the New York Times reports. Earlier, some investors even accepted a negative yield to park their cash in three-month Treasury bills....

Fed Looks to Raise Cash With Its Own Debt Issue

Economy's dive prompts central bank to get more creative with financing programs

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has more than doubled to $2 trillion since August as it’s financed new programs and bailed out ailing businesses, prompting the central bank to weigh issuing its own debt for the first time, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed, looking for new...

Tribune Company Files for Bankruptcy

Financing billions in debt becomes too onerous in down economy

(Newser) - The Tribune Company filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to mounting debt and an inability to pay interest in the floundering economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tribune’s profits declined 83% in the third quarter, making it difficult to finance $12 billion in debt. The company has...

Credit Crisis Spells Disaster for Private Equity Firms

Debt tightens as profits fall for many acquired companies

(Newser) - After a nearly 3-year buyout spree, private equity firms are facing tightened credit conditions just as slumping consumer spending squeezes many of their acquisitions, the New York Times reports. The leveraged-buyout bubble that culminated in $796 billion in deals in 2007 is bursting, leading to a grim reckoning as firms...

As Debit Cards Catch Credit, Banks Cash In

Consumers see way to limit spending; banks adjust fee tactics

(Newser) - Credit is no longer the king of cards, Business Week reports. As banks get stingy with credit and consumers look for ways to reel in their "charge it" ways, more and more are turning to debit cards—so many, in fact, that Visa projects debit spending could exceed credit...

'Circle of Pain' Snags Emerging Markets, Too
'Circle of Pain' Snags Emerging Markets, Too
OPINION
Oct 27, 2008 12:41 PM CDT

'Circle of Pain' Snags Emerging Markets, Too

Krugman: Russia et al. not immune after all to crisis' vicious cycle

(Newser) - Only a few weeks ago, it seemed the main fronts of the financial crisis were the Western banking system and mortgage market. But now the crisis has spread to emerging markets like Russia and Brazil. As Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times, the mantra of “decoupling”—...

Spain's Debt Solution: Shame Delinquents Into Paying

Debt collectors aim to embarrass by arriving in lavish costume

(Newser) - As personal debt grows in Spain, debt-collectors are taking the trick-or-treat approach, donning costumes—tuxes, bagpipers’ gear, Pink Panther suits—and knocking on doors. If all goes as planned, neighbors take note and the debtor is embarrassed into paying, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The idea is to make...

Americans Tighten Belts for New Frugal Age

(Newser) - The credit crisis may force Americans to do something truly drastic: live frugally. Benjamin Franklin-style penny-pinching once defined America, but thrift has gone decidedly out of style in recent times, BusinessWeek reports. "I can't help the economy," says one recent convert to the new frugality. "I've...

Dear Mom, Dad: Please Send Bailout

Parents face tough choices as debt-ridden kids struggle to find work

(Newser) - The families of many debt-laden college graduates are pondering bailouts of their own as the job market sours, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the average student loan now $22,000, parents of some struggling grads face a tough choice—to let their kids learn a lesson about credit the...

America's Real Financial Crisis? It's Debt
 America's Real Financial Crisis? It's Debt
opinion
Sep 28, 2008 5:23 AM CDT

America's Real Financial Crisis? It's Debt

US can't safely sell $700M in securities

(Newser) - Washington must stop selling debt as its top export if it wants to solve today's financial crisis, Justin Fox argues in Time. Political talk of the nation's staggering $731 billion deficit often centers on trade pacts and exchange rates. But "if the US simply stopped borrowing so much—if...

Clerics Shake Up Islamic Finance
Clerics Shake Up Islamic Finance
GLOSSIES
Sep 24, 2008 9:49 AM CDT

Clerics Shake Up Islamic Finance

Concern bonds violate Sharia causes crisis despite stable market

(Newser) - Of the challenges facing Western financial markets, fear of divine intervention isn’t one. The Middle East’s booming debt market is considered one of the most stable in the world, but investors there are getting a taste of “religious interpretation risk,” Portfolio reports. Islamic scholars are declaring...

Stocks Rally, End Week Mixed
 Stocks Rally, End Week Mixed 
MARKETS
Sep 19, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

Stocks Rally, End Week Mixed

Bailout plan reassures investors

(Newser) - Stocks continued to rally today, gaining enough on news of the government’s plan to form a debt relief agency for financial firms that the week's last two sessions saw the markets almost overcome the week’s earlier losses, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 368.75 to close at 11,...

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