Free Republic

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said that he supports letting states declare bankruptcy as they face mounting budget constraints sparked by the coronavirus and as Democrats pledge to seek more federal funding. McConnell, during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, said any additional federal assistance to state and local governments needed to be "thoroughly evaluated." "I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route. It saves some cities. And there’s no good reason for it not to be available. My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government...

oys"R"Us Inc has hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to help weigh restructuring options ranging from a bankruptcy filing to raising financing as bricks and mortar retail goes through a major downturn, according to a person familiar with the matter. The privately held toy retailer had previously said it was working with investment bank Lazard Ltd to help address its approximately $5 billion in debt, of which roughly $400 million comes due next year. The person could not be identified because the law firm's hiring is not yet public. In a statement, the company said it would provide an...

If Detroit were its own city-state — a bizarro version of prosperous Singapore — it would be a place the U.S. State Department would regularly issue travel warnings about, where “long-term, protracted conditions make a country dangerous or unstable.” Detroit’s murder rate, for instance, would be higher than that of all but a handful of other countries. The Democratic Republic of Detroit would also be relatively poor, with annual per capita income of around $15,000, making it a middle-income country like Mexico. Except Detroit would be a nation in decline rather than on the rise. Detroit would be a nation...

<p>Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr says the city of Detroit’s cash-flow crisis makes it “insolvent” and unable to borrow more money to mask over debts being made worse by skipping millions in payments for retiree pensions and health care.</p> <p>After 45 days on the job, Orr’s initial assessment of Detroit’s perilous finances is laid bare in a 41-page report to be delivered today to state Treasurer Andy Dillon.</p>