Insurers of Puerto Rican bonds sued the U.S. commonwealth late Thursday over its recent debt default, the first lawsuit against the island since its governor called its $70 billion debt load "unpayable" last June, Reuters reported today. The lawsuit by Assured Guaranty and Ambac Financial, filed in U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico, asks a judge to declare that Puerto Rico violated the U.S.
Puerto Rico in Distress
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Puerto Rico's latest default meant a $10.3 million hit for Ambac Financial (AMBC.O), which insures some of the debt the island's infrastructure authority PRIFA failed to pay on Monday, Reuters reported yesterday. Ambac had exposure to $10.3 million of PRIFA debt due on Monday, according to a Nov. 30 company report.
Puerto Rico’s general-obligation bonds rallied, with some yields falling to the lowest since July, after officials said the commonwealth would pay all that it owed on the constitutionally protected debt while missing payments on other securities, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.
Puerto Rico’s population loss accelerated last year, a troubling sign for an island facing a severe fiscal crisis and a recession entering its 10th year, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The island’s governor said last week that the U.S. territory would make most of roughly $1 billion in debt payments due Jan. 1, largely as it borrows from reserve accounts.