Richard Lehmann: 2011 Muni-Defaults May Set Record
December 06 — Municipal-bond defaults, including bankruptcies and the use of reserve funds for payments, may set a record this year as tobacco bonds and AMR Corp. (AMR)’s Chapter 11 filing push the total to more than double the previous mark, said Richard Lehmann, publisher of the Distressed Debt Securities Newsletter.
Adding tobacco debt sold by states such as California and Ohio as well as AMR-backed munis, the total will eclipse the $8.62 billion high set in 2009, Lehmann said today. His newsletter in Miami Lakes, Florida, tracks defaults and uses a broader measure than those applied by other municipal analysts. Read more.
