Puerto Rico Misses $58 Million Bond Payment

Puerto Rico missed most of a $58 million bond payment Monday, marking the first default by the U.S. commonwealth and escalating its attempt to restructure about $72 billion in debt, The Wall Street Journal reported. The payment to bondholders is the first skipped since Gov. Alejandro García Padilla in June said the island’s debts were unsustainable and urged negotiations with creditors, which range from individuals to hedge funds.

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Investors who bet with hope on an oil-and-gas business rebound probably aren’t happy that oil prices have turned downward again, dropping below $46 a barrel in New York to a four-month low. Funds managed by Franklin Resources Inc., Blackstone Group LP and Oaktree Capital Group LLC, among others, are facing paper losses on substantial investments this year in exploration-and-production companies, WSJ reports.

Investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc., which worked on megabankruptcies like Lehman Brothers and Enron Corp., disclosed details of the initial public offering by selling shareholders of up to $313.4 million of the company’s shares, WSJ reports.

Fresh court documents put a spotlight on bankrupt rapper 50 Cent’s personal finances, including details about his income, his business investments and his spending habits.

Need another indication of the financial hardship that U.S. coal miners face? The trailing-year default rate for U.S. metals and mining companies tracked by Fitch Ratings surged to 10% from July’s 7%, for the highest reading since at least the start of 2010, WSJ reports.

Atlantic City, N.J.—home to a whole lot of struggling and empty casinos—had its debt rating cut deeper into junk by Standard & Poor’s, Bloomberg reports.

Write to Katy Stech at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatyStech