The Washington Times GM Bondholders Series, June 18 The Bondholders -- Part 4
"Bondholders thought their retirement dreams were safe. After all, they had bought bonds, not stocks. "
"While the stock market is where many investors take risks to haul in lots of money, the bond market tends to attract people who want to preserve their wealth. Bondholders get their money back along with periodic interest payments (the yield) - or at least they're supposed to. "
"While they generally don't reap double-digit gains as some stockholders do, bondholders can expect a steady stream of income from the interest payments as well as a lump sum of money when their bonds mature. "
See the entire article at:
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/18/retirees-tried-to-play-it-safe/
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I liked this Series of articles if gave a human face to the GM tragedy. I haven’t gone through and counted but one reoccurring them that I found in many of the profiles was the faith, trust and reliance on the laws governing bankruptcy. If this had been treated as a regular Chapter 11 bankruptcy, we wouldn’t be reading any of these stories. The law would have protected them, not made them whole, but protected them as equal creditors as others with equal claims. The only reason we are reading these stories of devastating financial loss is the preferential and biased treatment afforded some creditors over others. The Bondholders are a widely dispersed group, with little or no voice, while the organized Creditors such as the UAW walk away with a disproportionate share handed to them by their political allies in government. The loss of the financial resources for these individuals is heart breaking. The loss to our legal system, ordinary citizen’s loss of faith and trust in their government, has a much wider audience and profound impact on each of us as citizens. As one person stated….”There was a 48 hour email vote to an unknown email address to accept the terms of the GM offer and 55%of the Bondholders supposedly accepted. At least in the recent Presidential election in Iran they are having a recount!”
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