While it’s not clear if there are sharks in the waters surrounding Puerto Rico, the island does have sharks of a different kind — ones that hail from mainland hedge funds, municipal bond funds and insurance companies that insure against bond defaults, according to a commentary in the New York Times on Saturday.
Puerto Rico in Distress
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Puerto Rico is preparing to seek bids in coming months from private companies willing to operate or improve seaports, regional airports, water meters, student housing, traffic-fine collections, parking spaces and a passenger ferry, according to a government presentation reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Puerto Rico's federal oversight board on Friday indicated it may be losing confidence in the local government's resolve in turning the ailing island around, and intimated that employee furloughs could be in the offing, Reuters reported.
A federal judge overseeing the restructuring of Puerto Rico's debt has created a mediation team to help resolve the U.S. territory's bankruptcy cases, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said in a ruling yesterday that five federal judges have been appointed to the team. All settlement negotiations will be confidential.