The Puerto Rico government’s decision to default on a portion of the $470 million in debt service payments due Monday drew reactions from politicians, analysts and creditors alike, who both urged Congress to act on the Commonwealth’s behalf and predicted long court battles ahead.
The government of Puerto Rico will default on several debt payments due May 2, including $422 million due from the Government Development Bank, “regardless of whether Congress enacts pending fiscal oversight legislation,” Moody’s Investors Service predicted.
The Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, as it is known for its initials in Spanish) scored a legal victory in its fight against the government for access to information on the identity of Puerto Rico’s bondholders.
Puerto Rico government officials announced Thursday the availability of the “Virtual Enterprise Management” business page located in the PR.gov website that will initially allow the business sector to enroll in the Registry of Corporations, the and the Department of Labor and Human Resources online records.
First BanCorp. wrapped up what top executives called a “very busy year” with net income of $21.3 million, or $0.10 per diluted share for 2015, compared to $392.3 million, or $1.87 per diluted share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014.
In the days since Assured Guaranty filed a lawsuit jointly with monoline insurer Ambac against the commonwealth of Puerto Rico over the constitutionality of revenue clawbacks, the parties have been defending their corners via public statements.
A bill amending Law 62 of 2014 calling for an increase in government purchases from local small and mid-sized businesses from 20 percent to 30 percent starting this year has been signed into law, House Speaker Jaime Perelló announced.
The government of Puerto Rico will make most of its $1 billion debt payment due Jan. 1, defaulting only on some $37 million of the amount, Gov. García-Padilla said Wednesday.
With an estimated $700 million in the Government Development Bank’s coffers and a Treasury Department that reported $488.6 million in revenue collections in November, Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla announced Sunday public sector employees will receive their Christmas bonuses, as established by law.
Puerto Rico General Fund collections reached $488.6 million in November, falling $15.4 million short of estimates, but $36.7 million above what the government shored up during the same month in 2014, Treasury Secretary Juan Zaragoza said Monday.
Microsoft Corp. could be close to landing a contract to implement a unified accounting system across Puerto Rico government agencies, which currently are unable to share data with each other, making reporting a challenge.
Government Development Bank President Melba Acosta said Tuesday the administration “has faith” it will pull Puerto Rico out of the fiscal abyss it is currently in, and will set up mechanism to avoid a repeat of the island’s current $73 billion debt scenario.
Investors in Puerto Rico debt got double-whammied by the island’s government Monday, which missed a $58 million debt payment as it had predicted it would, and separately told creditors it has temporarily suspended monthly deposits to its General Obligation (GO) bonds redemption fund.
The Puerto Rico central government is facing pressure to “act with more conviction and with more urgency” to address its dwindling liquidity, crushing debt and anxiety building up over the island’s fiscal problems.
Representatives from 20 Puerto Rican trade associations said Tuesday they are ready to work with the government to jump-start the island’s economic development, proposing specific strategies to move things along.
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