This Week With Puerto Rico

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Hot Mess

What a disaster. Lots of noise on this and so here goes PETITION stream-of-consciousness mode. Trump spoke and Lawrence Summers agreed about wiping out PR's debt. But, wait! Maybe, just maybe, the process has to play out ("Hello, right hand. Meet left hand."). The bond bloodbath that wasn't. Choice quote, "There were, quantitatively speaking, twice the number of buyers than sellers, of Puerto Rico’s benchmark security, the 8 percent general obligation bonds." Sounds like one of those sellers may be MatlinPatterson which likely isn't the last hedge fund to close its doors due, at least in part, to the Puerto Rico morass. Paulson & Co. continues to sh*t away the glow it gained during the financial crisis. The Baupost Group, a Boston-based hedge fund managed by billionaire Seth Klarman, has significant exposure. As do some others. And some think that exposure will equate to 10-to-20 cents-on-the-dollar (video). And, many think Washington is to blame for a lot of this mess. Finally, a special report from Reuters on the situation.