Creditors overwhelmingly approved a plan to restructure bonds issued by Puerto Rico’s insolvent Government Development Bank (GDB), according to preliminary voting results announced yesterday, Reuters reported. The U.S. Commonwealth’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority said final results are expected on or around Sept. 19.
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OppenheimerFunds Inc. and Franklin Advisers Inc. slashed their holdings of Puerto Rico bonds this year, taking advantage of a record rally in the price of the distressed island’s debt, Bloomberg News reported. It marks the first major retreat for OppenheimerFunds, one of the biggest mutual-fund owners of Puerto Rico debt and a company that’s playing a major role in its bankruptcy.
Nearly a year after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, many of the island’s roughly 44,000 small businesses that haven’t benefited from reconstruction spending are still struggling, Bloomberg News reported. About 2,400 businesses closed in the fourth quarter of 2017, more than double the amount that closed during the same period in 2016, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.
A final agreement to restructure Puerto Rico’s sales tax-backed bonds will be filed by Oct. 15 in federal court, where a judge overseeing the U.S. commonwealth’s bankruptcy case will decide its fate, parties to the deal said yesterday, Reuters reported.
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This wiki is a repository for members of the U.S. Congress, other policy makers, academics, investors, the media and the general public to understand the challenges facing Puerto Rico in 2016 and to provide data and information to begin crafting long term sustainable solutions. Click here to view.