Free Republic

One of the biggest U.S. gun manufacturers is taking steps toward filing for bankruptcy, according to Reuters news service. Remington Outdoor Company Inc. has “reached out to banks and credit investment funds in search of financing that will allow it to file for bankruptcy,” Reuters reported Thursday evening, citing “people familiar with the matter.” According to those sources, the debt-ridden company missed a payment on its debt this week and is seeking “debtor-in-possession financing” that would let the company continue operations once it went bankrupt.

The United States is effectively bankrupt, but that doesn’t matter to the GOP. Once evangelists of fiscal responsibility and scourges of deficit spending, Republicans today glory in spilling red ink. The national debt is now $20.6 trillion, greater than the annual GDP of about $19.5 trillion. Alas, with Republicans at the helm, deficits are set to continue racing upwards, apparently without end. This flood of red ink will increase. Last year the Congressional Budget Office figured the U.S. was going to again run trillion dollar deficits around 2022. An extra $10 trillion would be added to the deficit over the...

WHDH) — Former electronics giant Circuit City says it is making a comeback. Circuit City made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show, which is being held this week in Las Vegas, according to a CNBC report. The retailer will launch a retail website on Feb. 15, CEO Ronny Shmoel said.

Over in one corner sat Alice, a strong-minded 27-year-old who always said what she thought, regardless of how much it might hurt someone else. In the other corner was Sarah, a thirtysomething high-flier who would stand up for herself momentarily - then burst into tears and run for the ladies. Their simmering fight lasted hours, egged on by spectators taking sides and fuelling the anger. Sometimes other girls would join in, either heckling aggressively or huddling defensively in the toilets. It might sound like a scene from a tawdry reality show such as Big Brother, but the truth is a...

In the fall of 2015, a year before the presidential election, the Democratic National Committee, we now know, was bought for the equivalent of a pawn shop by the campaign of Hillary Clinton. The party organization was still deeply in debt from the 2012 campaign, owing millions to banks and vendors, burning through what little cash it had at a stunning rate of some $3 million to $4 million per month. By August 2015, the DNC was becoming unable to make payroll and approaching the equivalent of bankruptcy, according to a former senior party official, who requested anonymity, arguing that being quoted publicly...

John O'Connor of the AP has just broken the news that the unpaid bills of the Great State of Illinois have reached the awe-inspiring sum of $16.5 billion. Illinois is chasing a moving target as it tries to dig out of the nation's worst budget crisis, and a review obtained by The Associated Press shows $7.5 billion worth of unpaid bills – as much as half the total – hadn't been sent to the official who writes the checks by the end of June. Although many of those IOUs have since been paid, a similar amount in unprocessed bills has replaced...

The southern, privately built section of Texas 130, which has been an obstacle course of bumps and cracks since shortly after its October 2012 opening, will see $60 million of pavement repairs over the next year in 35 spots between Mustang Ridge and Seguin. Crews in many cases will be removing five feet or more of the road’s “sub-base,” the treated and compacted soil layers that underlie the highway’s asphalt driving surface, replacing it with soil with different, stronger properties, and then repaving those rehabilitated sections. Some repairs will also include installation of impermeable layers of soil alongside the road...

Puerto Rico, already trying to dig itself out of a historic financial crisis, is now facing a direct hit by a major hurricane that could destroy any progress the U.S. territory has made under a year-old economic rehab plan ─ and set it back further. Hurricane Maria is forecast to hit Puerto Rico early Wednesday, testing the local government's ability to respond to a humanitarian disaster. While the Caribbean island of 3.4 million people is accustomed to tropical storms, it hasn't been hit by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane since 1928.

Toys 'R' Us is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter. The toy merchant's move underscores the deep distress rippling through retailers of all sizes as consumers increasingly shop online at sellers such as Amazon.com Inc or go to discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc . A spokeswoman for Toys 'R' Us did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The people could not be identified because the bankruptcy plans are not yet public. The Wall...

Toys 'R' Us is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter. [Snip] The retailer had already said it was working with an investment bank to assess options for about $400 million in debt that comes due next year. Buyout firms KKR & Co LP and Bain Capital LP, together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust, took Toys 'R' Us private for $6.6 billion in 2005. The deal saddled the company with debt, limiting its ability...

A resident of my city of Pacific Grove recently did a huge service on Facebook by linking to a site that gives pay and pensions for state and local government workers. It's breathtaking. Question: Who received the highest pension in 2017 and how much was it? Answer: Ronald D. Miller. $366,529.20. Mr. Miller was on the teaching faculty at the University of California, San Francisco. The 7th highest pension, by the way, was received by someone I know and like: Richard W. Roll, the well-known finance professor at UCLA. So this is not a gotcha. It's simply pointing out...

Democrats led by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are still complaining that bankers did not go to jail for the 2008 banking crisis. That is despite, as previously written about in this column, the crux of the problem was the federal government. Likewise, that is despite the fact the government let well-connected Democrat Jon Corzine slide for actual crimes at MF Global Holdings, also previously written about. Yet they nailed Eric Bloom with highly questionable charges and conduct at trial by the prosecution.After a four-week trial and only three hours of deliberation by the jurors, Eric Bloom, CEO of Sentinel...

Hartford has hired a lawyer as city officials begin navigating the complex system of bankruptcy. The city is facing a $65 million shortfall this year and it remains unclear whether it will receive any additional state aid. Standard & Poor's downgraded Hartford debt to junk bond status late Tuesday, less than a week after the financially troubled capital city hired a New York law firm with expertise in restructuring municipal finances. The Wall Street ratings agency downgraded most city of Hartford outstanding debt to BB, a level that's classified as speculative, also known as non-investment-grade, or junk, from BBB-. That...

Children's clothing seller Gymboree Corp. is closing 350 stores as its works to restructure in bankruptcy. The San Francisco-based company said Tuesday that it's mostly closing Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores. It also operates Janie and Jack stores. The company will have more than 900 locations after the stores are shut down. Gymboree filed for bankruptcy protection in June. Traditional retailers have been struggling to deal with strong competition from online companies and slowing mall traffic.

Cold Case: Bankruptcy Reopened More Than 80 Years Later (Can only be linked to)

illegal immigration costs Illinois $3.85 billion per year. This number is a low estimate in a particularly low year because of the budget crisis happening in Illinois currently. So let’s put that number in perspective. As mentioned above, Illinois is in a budget crisis and on the verge of bankruptcy. Their state debt is upwards of $64 billion. Their credit rating is a BBB-, which is one notch above a junk/non-investment rating. They are also projected to have their credit further downgraded. Illinois also has unpaid bills upwards of $15 billion (with $800 million per year just in interest payments)...

While one deal struck by Jane O’Meara Sanders during her time as Burlington College’s president has triggered a federal investigation, another arrangement she engineered is breeding claims of nepotism and allegations of veiled threats against her husband’s presidential campaign. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders, is facing criticism over a “sweetheart deal” granted to a school founded by her daughter while president of the now-defunct Burlington College. Carol Moore, who served as the final president of the college from 2014 until its closure in May 2016, says Jane Sanders approved a deal for the college with Vermont Woodworking School...

Illinois is now spending over 100% of its monthly revenue and talk of Chapter 9 bankruptcy has begun; Congress has yet to step in, but chatter predicts it may not be much longer. The problem remains that until Illinois (and more specifically Chicago) changes its economically suicidal policies, there is almost nothing that can be done to stop the spiral. Major ideology changes will be blocked constantly, but there is something they can do that will keep all sides relatively happy. People have been talking about Illinois going bankrupt for years (in fact it seems to be an almost annual...

OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER FORECASTS SEVERE FINANCIAL STRAIN BEGINNING IN JULY As Illinois' Chief Fiscal and Accountability Officer, my Office is responsible for managing the state's financial accounts as well as providing the public and the state's elected leadership with objective and timely data concerning the state’s difficult fiscal condition. As you are quite aware, I have been very vocal regarding these issues and the budgetary impasse since assuming office six months ago; however we are now reaching a new phase of crisis. Accordingly, I must communicate to you at this time the full extent of our dire fiscal straits...

Illinois is grappling with a full-fledged financial crisis and not even the lottery is safe – with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner warning the state is entering "banana republic" territory.   Facing billions in unpaid bills and pension obligations, the state is hitting a cash crunch that is rare even by Illinois standards. A top financial official just warned 100 percent of the state's monthly revenue will be eaten up by court-ordered payments. Rauner is calling a special session of the Democrat-led General Assembly in a bid to pass what he hopes will be the first full budget package in almost three...