Puerto Rico Bonds Slump to New Low on Island Devastation: Chart
Four weeks after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still reeling from the devastation it brought, with electricity restored to less than one fifth of its residents. While officials in Washington have pledged to deliver needed recovery funds to the already bankrupt U.S. territory, the storm has left bondholders wagering that the island will need to write off even more of its $74 billion debt. That pushed the price of general-obligation bonds due in 2035, one of Puerto Rico’s most
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Four weeks after being pummeled by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still reeling from the devastation it brought, with electricity restored to less than one fifth of its residents. While officials in Washington have pledged to deliver needed recovery funds to the already bankrupt U.S. territory, the storm has left bondholders wagering that the island will need to write off even more of its $74 billion debt. That pushed the price of general-obligation bonds due in 2035, one of Puerto Rico’s most active securities, to an average of 30.9 cents on the dollar Tuesday, the lowest since the debt was first sold in March 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show.