Free Republic

The U.S. government's restructuring plan for Chrysler LLC is sounding alarm bells for those in the business of lending money who worry that the plan could subvert decades of standing legal precedent and investing principles. Banks, hedge funds and other investors that hold $6.9 billion in secured loans are being asked to release their contractual claims over Chrysler's assets in exchange for a fraction of what they are owed. Many lenders see that as a raw deal, because in the bankruptcy code's priority scheme, secured creditors are supposed to get paid before unsecured creditors such as employees. Investors worry the...

Debt collectors are dunning the dead, seeking payment from deceased debtors or their next-of-kin by using sophisticated databases that scan probate court records and other information sources as a way to bolster revenues in depressing economic times, according to news reports. The New York Times is reporting that though many banks may need a bailout and some homeowners can't make their mortgage payments, the departed are definitely paying down their part of the debt. Post-mortem harassment is the latest trend in debt collecting, and one of the thriving parts of the reviled industry. In Minneapolis, Minn., teams of debt agents...

<p>As U.S. troops push closer to Baghdad, global debt collectors aren't far behind.</p> <p>A vast array of corporate, sovereign and individual claimants, including South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and the Russian government, are already preparing to seek compensation for at least $100 billion owed by Saddam Hussein's regime.</p>