In the Great Recession and today’s era of de-leveraging, much is being made of the so-called “fulcrum security”.    Read More

After time away from the world of chapter 11 and distressed investing, hedge funds are back in town searching bankruptcies for debt to trade.   Read More

Today, loans to debtors-in-possession — i.e., DIP loans — are all the rage....As investors are looking for ways to put money to work, they are setting their sights on the DIP loan market as a way to realize meaningful returns.    Read More

Ready for a good scare? The national debt clock is now online, and it's brought 38 of its evil statistical friends with it to freak you out.   Read More

As children, we probably learned that it was impolite to ask how much someone paid for something. These learning’s generally follow us into adulthood and make it difficult for us to talk about our money situations….with our financial planners, our friends and even our spouses and children.    Read More

I recently got my hands on Michael Jackson’s tax documents and a good ol’ fashioned assets vs. liabilities statement, courtesy of the folks at "EXTRA" who wanted me to assess his personal finances.    Read More

What’s the tipping point for student loans?  When they go from being an investment in your future to an anchor dragging you down?  When does it make sense to go into a certain amount of debt—debt that you cannot get rid of EVER, even in bankruptcy—and when does a lot of student loan debt become too much?   Read More

When you throw in a short-armed consumer and the massive deleveraging of both households and businesses, an ugly fiscal picture begins to take shape with deficits exploding beyond the already huge projections put forth by the White House.   Read More

I'm trying to raise my credit score to purchase my first home. My credit score is 635. I was late a few times on a couple of loans. I've since paid them off. When I purchase my score the formula uses those old accounts that I've paid off to formulate my score. Is that fair or correct?    Read More

My favorite Dollar Dilemma regarding credit scores went something like this: “I make over six-figures, my credit should be awesome!” The more we need credit scores, the more misinformation still seems to fester.    Read More