The International Monetary Fund Tuesday urged the United States to outline credible measures to reduce its budget deficit, pressuring the White House to detail plans to ratchet down record debt levels. Get the full story »
Inside these posts: Debt
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China’s holdings of U.S. debt jump 30%
The United States owes considerably more money to China than previously reported, the Treasury Department said on Monday as it revised Beijing’s holdings of U.S. Treasury debt sharply upward to $1.160 trillion.
The $268.4 billion increase over figures reported on February 15 was contained in a survey of foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities released on Monday. The report attributed Treasuries holdings to China that were previously counted in other countries where broker-dealers made purchases.
The United Kingdom has typically been a country where brokers have purchased Treasuries for central banks and investors elsewhere, including China. Get the full story »
Sears Canada’s fourth-quarter profit falls
Retailer Sears Canada posted a 28 percent drop in its quarterly profit, hurt in part by lower demand for appliances.
“The 2010 results were disappointing due to several external factors including increasing household debt, at an all time high, which affects sales in major expense items such as appliances,” Chief Executive Dene Rogers said in a statement. Get the full story »
Gold posts first monthly loss since July
Gold fell on Monday, notching its first monthly decline in six months, as strong U.S. factory and spending data coupled with fading worries about the euro zone debt crisis put a damper on the metal’s rally. Get the full story »
CME prepays $420 million loan, saves $3 million
Derivatives exchange operator CME Group Inc. said Thursday it has paid off a $420 million loan to complete the refinancing of a three-year debt agreement.
The original credit and term loan agreement, due to mature in August, was replaced with a $1 billion revolving credit agreement with an expiration of January 2014. Get the full story »
Nuveen plans to start fund to buy corporate debt
From Bloomberg | In a prospectus filed today with the SEC, Nuveen Investments, the asset manager owned by Madison Dearborn Partners, said it plans to start a fund to buy corporate debt.
Obama approval rating rises as economy improves
President Barack Obama returning from his vacation in Hawaii with his family, Jan. 4, 2011. (Reuters/Jason Reed)
President Barack Obama is getting a bump in his approval ratings from an improving economy, but Americans want him to focus on reducing debt and spending, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday.
The poll found reasons for optimism for Obama as he searches for areas of compromise with newly emboldened Republicans this year and lays the groundwork for his 2012 re-election bid.
Obama’s job approval rating went up to 50 percent from 45 percent in December, the first time Obama has achieved 50 percent approval in this poll since last June. Get the full story »
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in $1.5B debt sale
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway opened 2011 with a $1.5 billion debt sale on Monday, tapping markets as it customarily does early in the year to refinance maturing notes. Get the full story »
Fed officials say U.S. must address budget issues
The European debt crisis should serve as a warning that the United States must address its long-term budget problems, U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Illinois leads week’s debt issuers with $1.5 billion
From Bloomberg | Illinois and New York issuers will offer $4.7 billion of this week’s municipal debt with scheduled sales 52 percent higher than the same week last year, as local governments seek to place deals before the end of 2010.
Poll: Consumers feel less angst from debt
Debt isn’t stressing people as much as it had been, but consumers remain gun-shy about embarking on a big holiday spending spree.
An Associated Press-GfK Poll also suggests Americans are more disciplined about using their credit cards. Deep into a stubbornly harsh economic downturn, more people than last year say they pay off their balances right away, and fewer say they make credit card purchases if they lack enough money at the time. Get the full story »
CB Richard Ellis completes $650M debt refinancing
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. said Thursday it has lined up $1.5 billion in new credit and refinanced $650 million in debt under its credit agreement. Get the full story »
No more up-front fees for debt fixers
Companies that claim to settle your debts for less than you owe can no longer charge up-front fees for their services. Instead, they have to wait to collect from consumers until they actually deliver on the promise.
The new rule goes into effect Wednesday and is part of the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to clamp down on deceptive debt-settlement practices. Get the full story »
Judge gives creditors right to sue Zell, others
A bankruptcy judge on Friday granted Tribune Co.’s official committee of unsecured creditors authority to make the opening moves in long-threatened litigation over the 2007 leveraged buyout blamed for the media company’s tumble into Chapter 11.
Judge Kevin Carey said he would sign off on an order acknowledging the official committee is the proper body to bring claims against lenders, executives and other leaders of the embattled media company, as well as advisers who reaped millions in fees from the LBO. Get the full story »
Exelon plans debt sale to buy Deere unit
Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. producer of nuclear power, plans to sell $900 million of 10- and 31-year debt to fund its purchase of a Deere & Co. wind-power unit.
The bonds may be issued as soon as today through Exelon Generation Co. according to a person familiar with the transaction. John Deere Renewables will cost $860 million with an additional $40 million if Deere starts constructing three projects in Michigan, Exelon said today in a regulatory filing that didn’t specify the debt offering’s size or timing. Get the full story »
