debt

Apple sells a record $17 billion in debt

Apple had a field day with its first debt offering since 1996.

Investors hungrily gobbled up $17 billion in Apple bonds, the largest offering in corporate history. The proceeds will be used to help fund the company's ambitious plan to return value to shareholders through share repurchases and dividend payouts.

The bond sale comes on the heels of Apple's plans to double its capital return program, which involves spending an additional $55 billion in dividend payments to investors. Apple also said it would be spending an extra $50 billion in repurchasing company stock along with increasing its quarterly … Read more

OnLive was deep in debt, running out of cash, and 'had days to live'

Before a major shakeup that resulted in OnLive firing its entire staff last week, the online gaming company was in greater financial trouble than was previously known.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company owed creditors between $30 million and $40 million, with little cash on the books to pay them, and was facing imminent shutdown, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

"It was a company that was in dire straits. It only had days to live in terms of cash flow and the like," Joel Weinberg, CEO of Insolvency Services Group, told the the Merc's Troy … Read more

Nokia's debt downgraded to junk status

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse for Nokia, Moody's steps in with a downgrade of its debt rating.

Moody's lowered its rating to junk status, citing earnings pressure and cash burn that is larger than the firm previously expected. The move comes after Nokia said yesterday that it would cut 10,000 jobs and warned its second-quarter financial result would again disappoint investors.

The downgrade is just the latest blow for Nokia, which is quickly seeing its prospects dim. A lower rating means it will cost more to issue debt, and the company will have … Read more

100 Apple iPads save Greece $140 billion

The daunting task of restructuring Greece's debt fell to Bob Apfel and his company, Bondholder Communications Group, according to Fortune.

To help complete a complicated series of transactions in which the country's Finance Ministry agreed to settle for far less than the $270 billion owed, Apfel and his team used a network of iPads.

The task involved capturing approval from nearly 100,000 debt holders scattered around the world in a very short amount of time.

Armed with a custom-built debt-restructuring app, the effort's leadership, including representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Hellenic Exchange, the Bank of … Read more

Startup SpringCoin aims to help those in debt

If one Y Combinator startup is successful, it might have just gotten a bit easier to get out of debt.

SpringCoin (formerly DebtEye), opens its online doors this morning with the noble intention of helping you, or possibly someone you know, get out of debt. No, SpringCoin won't pay your bills for you, but through a combination of its "smart-learning software" and human expertise, it will provide a detailed plan to get yourself out of debt.

SpringCoin isn't without competition, though. ReadyForZero, a fellow Y Combinator alum that also boasts an investment from Dave McClure of … Read more

Clearwire's Q4 preview: Revenue doubles on customer growth

It appears Clearwire's got some of its confidence back.

The 4G WiMax service provider has released select preliminary results from its fourth quarter, including revenue that was double that of a year ago--$362 million, compared with the year-ago $181 million. The upswing was primarily driven by growth in its wholesale business.

The figure exceeded analysts' average estimate of $355 million in revenue for the period, according to a survey taken by Thomson Reuters.

Clearwire is likely breathing a sigh of relief after several months of uncertainty over its ability to obtain the needed financing to continue its operations, … Read more

Clearwire in a bind as debt payment looms

Clearwire is considering whether or not to make a major loan payment as the cash-strapped wireless provider looks for financing options.

The company is supposed to make a $237 million payment on December 1. With $698 million in cash and short-term investments as of September 30, it can certainly meet the obligation, but at the cost of a significant chunk of its remaining war chest. As a result, the company is debating whether to skip the payment, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Clearwire, which operates a 4G WiMax network used by Sprint Nextel and other wireless resellers, is at … Read more

The 404 913: Where Jill and the Amazon Kindle are on Fire (podcast)

The Rev. Justin Yu is out for the rest of the week, but in his place we have the always informative financial guru Jill Schlesinger. Today we talk about the new Amazon Kindle Fire, and how it changes everything in the tablet market (especially for Google). But we also quiz Aunt Jill about the ongoing crisis in Europe, and she tells us about the sugary grab bag at the News & Documentary Emmys.

The 404 Digest for Episode 913

Amazon's new Kindle Fire Amazon Kindle Touch Amazon Kindle Amazon Silk browser iPhone announcement Bathroom Break: 'Jedi Kittens Strike Back' Episode 913 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Spectrum auctions not in debt ceiling agreement

The proposed debt ceiling bill that Congress is expected to pass in the next day or so will not give the Federal Communications Commission authority to auction additional wireless spectrum. But that doesn't mean that wireless incentive auctions are dead.

Wireless experts in Washington, D.C. say Congress could tack on the authorization for the FCC to conduct spectrum auctions to a package that may emerge later this year from the bipartisan deficit-reduction panel created by this week's debt agreement. President Obama said the "super committee," which will consist of six Democrats and six Republicans, will … Read more

The 404 871: Where we're pleading the 14th (podcast)

Today is international System Admin Appreciation Day, so buy your friendly neighborhood IT guy a bag of Funyuns for another year of tech support! It's Jeff's last show before his vacation next week, and we're kicking off today's episode with a discussion about what science has determined to be the saddest movie scene of all time.

We're also looking back at Obama's rickrolling earlier this week, China banning booth babes from their online gaming show, and Apple writing a check to free the U.S. from debt.

The 404 Digest for Episode 871

The White House just Rickrolled a Twitter user. The saddest movie scene ever is pinpointed by science. Apple now has more money than the U.S. government. It's the 12th annual System Admin Appreciation Day!

Episode 871 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more