ClydeR
05-02-2016, 03:41 PM
Puerto Rico defaulted on some debt today. They will default on a lot more debt on July 1 unless Congress does something before then. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. Puerto Ricans who move to a U.S. state can vote in U.S. elections. Because of Peurto Rico's sagging economy, Puerto Ricans are immigrating to the U.S. in record numbers. Most of them are going to Florida.
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Monday Puerto Rico did not make nearly $370 million of a debt payment and called on Congress to help restore the island’s legal ability to restructure its debt or a much more significant default could occur July 1.
More... (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/qanda-puerto-ricos-debt-crisis-explained/2016/05/01/c7c2c9b6-0ffd-11e6-a9b5-bf703a5a7191_story.html)
Since Puerto Rico is not a state, it is unable to access what’s known as Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. There are current bi-partisan discussions to change this in Congress, but the bill is currently stalled in committee.
Without the ability to go into bankruptcy, the only avenue investors will have to resolve their differences would be through the courts, a process that could take years. A group of investors, mainly hedge funds, have bought distressed Puerto Rican debt betting that they can get higher payouts through regular courts than through U.S. Bankruptcy courts. Remaining in legal and financial limbo would likely push the island’s economy into even steeper economic turmoil. The courts could also rule that Puerto Rico is legally obligated to pay all its bonds, forcing the government to cut basic services.
Conservatives are grumbling about helping the territory rework a massive debt burden built over decades, while rank-and-file members were spooked by outside ads lambasting the package as a “bailout” for the island.
The Center for Individual Freedom is behind the ads and not required to disclose its donors. But many believe hedge funds that stand to gain from not passing the bill are involved in the ads, which are regularly seen during cable news broadcasts in Washington, D.C.
More... (http://thehill.com/homenews/house/277786-ryan-fights-to-win-gop-majority-on-puerto-rico)
NEW figures point to another year of record migration from Puerto Rico to the United States in 2015. In the first 10 months of 2015 about 112,500 more people left the island than arrived in Puerto Rico, according to a recent report by Ricardo Cortés Chico in El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s main newspaper.
The figures do not include the last two months of 2015, but even so they already top the 84,000 people who reportedly left the island in all of 2014, reflecting a stagnant economy and government belt tightening in order to make payments on $72 billion in debt.
More... (http://orlandolatino.org/2016/04/another-record-migration-year-puerto-rico/)
Florida is the No. 1 destination for outbound Puerto Ricans, surpassing the traditional Puerto Rican migrant center of New York. In fact, the Florida now counts over 1 million Puerto Ricans, more than any other state, thanks also to the migration of Puerto Ricans from the Mid Atlantic corridor to the Sunshine State. Central Florida has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the state.
If Congress does not act before July 1, Florida could see a lot more Puerto Rican immigrants. Puerto Ricans used to immigrate mostly to New York, but I heard the Jets ran them out a few years ago.
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Monday Puerto Rico did not make nearly $370 million of a debt payment and called on Congress to help restore the island’s legal ability to restructure its debt or a much more significant default could occur July 1.
More... (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/qanda-puerto-ricos-debt-crisis-explained/2016/05/01/c7c2c9b6-0ffd-11e6-a9b5-bf703a5a7191_story.html)
Since Puerto Rico is not a state, it is unable to access what’s known as Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. There are current bi-partisan discussions to change this in Congress, but the bill is currently stalled in committee.
Without the ability to go into bankruptcy, the only avenue investors will have to resolve their differences would be through the courts, a process that could take years. A group of investors, mainly hedge funds, have bought distressed Puerto Rican debt betting that they can get higher payouts through regular courts than through U.S. Bankruptcy courts. Remaining in legal and financial limbo would likely push the island’s economy into even steeper economic turmoil. The courts could also rule that Puerto Rico is legally obligated to pay all its bonds, forcing the government to cut basic services.
Conservatives are grumbling about helping the territory rework a massive debt burden built over decades, while rank-and-file members were spooked by outside ads lambasting the package as a “bailout” for the island.
The Center for Individual Freedom is behind the ads and not required to disclose its donors. But many believe hedge funds that stand to gain from not passing the bill are involved in the ads, which are regularly seen during cable news broadcasts in Washington, D.C.
More... (http://thehill.com/homenews/house/277786-ryan-fights-to-win-gop-majority-on-puerto-rico)
NEW figures point to another year of record migration from Puerto Rico to the United States in 2015. In the first 10 months of 2015 about 112,500 more people left the island than arrived in Puerto Rico, according to a recent report by Ricardo Cortés Chico in El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s main newspaper.
The figures do not include the last two months of 2015, but even so they already top the 84,000 people who reportedly left the island in all of 2014, reflecting a stagnant economy and government belt tightening in order to make payments on $72 billion in debt.
More... (http://orlandolatino.org/2016/04/another-record-migration-year-puerto-rico/)
Florida is the No. 1 destination for outbound Puerto Ricans, surpassing the traditional Puerto Rican migrant center of New York. In fact, the Florida now counts over 1 million Puerto Ricans, more than any other state, thanks also to the migration of Puerto Ricans from the Mid Atlantic corridor to the Sunshine State. Central Florida has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the state.
If Congress does not act before July 1, Florida could see a lot more Puerto Rican immigrants. Puerto Ricans used to immigrate mostly to New York, but I heard the Jets ran them out a few years ago.