Wall Of Debt

The leveraged loan market got accustomed to big numbers over the past decade. There's $3.6 trillion, the amount of leveraged loans made since 2000, according to Thomson Reuters' Loan Pricing Corp. There's 735-fold, the amount of growth between 2003 and 2007 in the volume of collateralized loan obligations -- the funds that helped fuel the loan market's surge after the tech and telecom bust of 2001. And there's $375 billion, the amount of bank debt used to fund leveraged buyouts completed between 2005 and 2007.

But right now, the leveraged loan market is fixated on one number: $430 billion, the amount in leveraged loans due to mature between 2012 and 2014. Despite the big numbers of the past, this might be simply too big. Indeed, the $430 billion figure is already worrying lenders, borrowers and loan-market investors alike as they struggle with the possibility that a large portion of those loans will neither be repaid nor refinanced, raising the specter of a wave of defaults among the debt-fueled LBO borrowers of 2005 through 2007.Full Story

Obama: America Going Broke

CHICAGO (AP) -- President Barack Obama asked skeptical doctors Monday to get behind an overhaul of the nation's health care system, declaring the system a "ticking time bomb" for the federal budget that could force the entire nation to "go the way of GM."

The difficulty of his sales job was evident when he said he was against limiting awards in malpractice lawsuits, a top priority for doctors. That statement brought him a smattering of boos -- a remarkable public response to a popular president accustomed to cheering audiences.

Flying to his hometown to speak at the annual meeting here of the American Medical Association, Obama struck back at critics of his efforts to reshape the health care delivery system to bring skyrocketing health care costs under control and expand coverage to the millions of uninsured.Full Story

VIX : A Loaded Shot Gun

Stay Away from this markets as the volatility in the markets can increase with the time frame.

Watch out for the support on the indices:
S&P 500 : 925
Dow : 8550
NASDAQ : 1800

Six Flags Nose Dive

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six Flags Inc (SIXF.OB) will not sell assets or reduce its workforce as a result of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing this weekend, the theme park operator's chief executive told CNBC on Monday.

"This isn't a liquidation," said CEO Mark Shapiro. "This is about the past. This is about debt that's been around for just too long."

Six Flags, which operates or owns 20 parks in North America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the early hours of Saturday morning. The company was saddled with a $2.4 billion debt load and faced a looming cash $300 million payment to preferred stock holders in August.

The company tried to convince lenders to swap debt for equity in the last two months, but abandoned the measure after the measure drew little interest.Full Story