[wardaddy]

He seems to be able to get usually sound bankers and institutional lenders like insurance and pension funds to loan him enough money where they can't afford to let him sink.

He had a couple of lightning strikes:

1) Born to a quite wealthy daddy who got him started and supposedly pledged everything to bail him out last go around.

2) Sweetheart deal from NYC on the Hyatt and Grand Central at the perfect time.

He overpaid for several properties it would now appear and issuing 10 year notes and 11.25% was dangerous in my view. I bet they were call notes/bonds but he lacked the financing or cash flow to retire them early and refinance and now he is looking a huge payback in 24 months which on an issue that size at that interest is scary.

[blackdog]

Those 11.25% notes are as worthless as his soul. He has no intention of paying those at maturity. Why should he? Our prevailing culture in Washington and Wallstreet just means he will default, still fly around in his helicopters, show his mug on television with no sense of disgrace, and accept a fine from Elliot Spitzer, which he will pay with assets from the same stockholders Spitzer is supposed to be an advocate for.

It's a Broadstreet/Wallstreet act that's getting mighty old these days.

[laconic]

Trump is living proof of the axiom that if you owe the bank $100,000 the bank owns you; if you owe the bank $1 billion, you own the bank. A poorer man would have been bankrupt; the banks couldn't afford to let Trump go under. He did do one remarkably prescient deal; buying the Columbus Hotel on on what, 42nd Street at a very cheap rate when NYCity had hit rock bottom and turning it into a Hyatt just as Manhattan rebounded.