Bankruptcy Blogs

Postal Banking Didn't Work in 1910 — and It Won't Now

03/17/16

Endorsements from lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren of the U.S. Postal Service providing banking services overlook how a similar plan faltered after the Panic of 1907.

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Morning Scan: Fed Sees Fewer Hikes; Attracting and Keeping Millennials

03/17/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Fed Sees Fewer Hikes: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and fellow central bank policymakers announced they expect to raise the benchmark interest rate just twice this year, down from the four hikes expected in their December projections, and, as always, failed to commit to a timetable for the increases. In making the decision, the Fed weighed a strengthening job market and a resilient but moderate U.S. expansion against weak wage growth andÂ...

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Sports Authority Sues More Than 160 Suppliers

03/17/16
Bloomberg News

Sports Authority Inc.

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Lessons on Puerto Rico Bonds from the Financial Crisis

03/16/16

With a fiasco as big as the financial crisis, one of the only positive outcomes is there are a lot of lessons for the future. As Credit Slips thinks about how the administration might influence the resolution of Puerto Rico's bond problems, I think there are a few points from the financial crisis to consider.

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And Now for Something Nutty on Puerto Rico

03/16/16

I know nothing about the statutes delegating "home rule" authority to the Commonwealth, but do they have any reversionary clauses?  For example, if there's crisis, war, etc., can the federal government revest in any power?  Leaving aside the political unpalatability, wouldn't that leave the executive branch with a freer hand?  Building, can the President (temporarily) draft the island's residents, then issue an order taking (for fair/discounted value) any debts related to providing services for this vital military installation?  Or how about declaring it a giant national monument?  OK, feel

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Will Caesars Examiner’s Report Help Junior Creditors in Restructuring Talks?

03/16/16
Steve Marcus/Reuters

Junior creditors seeking more money from Caesars Entertainment Corp.

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Puerto Rico Bondholders: Fact and Fantasy

03/16/16

When I think about "bondholders," I tend to think about their lawyers. (That probably says a lot about the crowds that I run in). In the case of Puerto Rico, we've seen affable, whip smart, expensively dressed New York lawyers make cogent arguments against many of the bond restructuring proposals. But these lawyers are not the bondholders themselves, who are a much more diverse lot.

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Banks Need to Think More Like Apple — Even in Their Branches

03/16/16

Research shows the more consumers interact with branch staff, the more they dislike the brand. To improve their image, banks need to emulate Apple and focus on every customer experience detail Â-- in tech and in person.

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Don't Be Fooled by Overly Rosy Loan Growth Numbers

03/16/16

Loans outpacing GDP and the expressed optimism of CEOs on recent earnings calls are among the signs that growth figures are too good to be true.

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