The World’s Next Credit Crunch Could Make 2008 Look Like A Hiccup
” We are certainly living in strange times. An unprecedented monetary experiment is coming to a staggered end and no one knows the potential repercussions – a plague of frogs cannot be entirely ruled out.
For the time being, the markets remain sanguine, expecting, for example, a gentle increase in the Bank of England’s main interest rate to just 1.5pc by the end of the decade. And, who knows, maybe the markets are right.
But maybe it’s too quiet. Last week, Ray Dalio, the founder of the $165bn (£110bn) hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, wrote a widely-circulated note warning his clients that the US Federal Reserve risked setting off a 1937-style crash when it starts raising interest rates again.
Then, as now, the central bank had spent years printing money in order to help the American economy recover from the 1929 crash. But the side effect was a stock market bubble, which promptly burst when the Fed prematurely increased rates. Mr Dalio is worried about a repeat performance: “We don’t know – nor does the Fed – exactly how much tightening will knock over the apple cart.”
It’s true that the policy and regulatory response to the last crisis often sows the seeds for the next. It is not hard to map out a sequence of events in which that proves to be the case again. If it were, a US stock market crash might be the least of our problems.”
Tag Archive: Default
Colt Warns Of Possible Default, Likely To Miss $10.9 Million Payment
” With diminishing sales and unlikeliness of paying bondholders, Colt Defense, LLC warns of a bleak financial future.
The privately held company announced yesterday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission possible default as it’s likely to miss a $10.9 million payment to bondholders on Nov. 17. If skipped, Colt has a 30-day grace period, but if it does not pay by Dec. 15 the company will be in default.
If a company defaults without first declaring bankruptcy, creditors will likely force it into bankruptcy and liquidate the assets or the company will operate under the shield of a bank, limiting major operational decisions.
Colt blames its financial woes on a continued decline in demand for rifles and handguns in the commercial market, and delays in government sales. The company reported in June a $20.5 million loss so far in 2014, down from a $9.5 million profit for the same time in 2013.
Like the iconic West Hartford, Connecticut, company, other gun makers have also seen a decline in demand. Smith & Wesson reported a net income of $14.6 million, down from $26.5 million for the quarter last year. Profits for the industry giant, Sturm, Ruger and Company, plunged 76.3 percent, from $28.6 million this time last year to $6.8 million for the past three months. “
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