debt

The following is a translation of an article by Dr. Artur P. Schmidt, a well-known economist and economic journalist in Switzerland. Schmidt is also a keynote-speaker, who speaks regularly about new media, technology, future trends and…

From the National Post: American Express Co., the largest U.S. credit-card company by purchases, is paying some cardholders US$300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens. People who…

Jim Leng, the new Chairman of troubled mining giant Rio Tinto has quit abruptly despite having been employed by the company for only one month. This does not bode well as the company's mountainous debt is at the core of why Leng is leaving…

I do not think General Electric is AAA company -- far from it. Their finance arm GE Capital is at the center of the private equity and asset-backed security time bombs that have yet to explode. And this makes the cash flow expected from…

U.S. consumer spending contracted more than anticipated in December 2008, declining by 1.0%. However, this number is a look into the past and does little to help predict how spending will trend going forward.

Recently, I posted a video of Peter Schiff making the argument for small government and resisting stimulus. As I see much to like in Peter Schiff's views, I sympathisize with the broad themes of his message. However, I do not feel he is…

Just months ago, Rio Tinto was a behemoth swaggering from the huge run up in commodity prices. This is a company that had revenue of nearly $30 billion and net income of nearly $8 billion in 2007. It was worth over $160 billion by May as…

You have probably never heard of Glencore. Well you have heard of its founder Marc Rich, the man infamously pardoned by President Clinton before he left office. And I suspect that you will soon hear a lot more about the company as well.…

The Tribune was simply over-leveraged with a balance sheet made for this age of debt, leverage and bubbles. Note the lack of equity and the enormous debt load. Why would anyone, especially someone as savvy as Sam Zell load up a declining…

In a shocking news story, the Wall Street Journal reports that the media company Tribune Company, which publishes the Chicago Tribune, is exploring bankruptcy.  While advertising revenue has contracted significantly, impacting all major…