Puerto Rico

A United States government argument in a criminal case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court may backfire, leaving the U.S. responsible for paying Puerto Rico’s debt, a prominent Puerto Rico Senator said.

Ambac Assurance Corp. paid out $10.3 million to cover an insured portion of the $36 million that the Puerto Rico Infrastructure Finance Authority defaulted on Monday.

Two House Natural Resources Committee panels will hold hearings on Puerto Rico this month to discuss the possibility of energy reform and federal oversight for the ailing commonwealth, according to a committee spokesperson.

Bondholders are expected to weigh litigation against intensified negotiations with Puerto Rico this month, after the commonwealth missed $37 million of debt payments.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has lowered its rating on the Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority bonds secured by federal rum excise taxes to D from CC, following the authority's default on scheduled interest payments.

Puerto Rico’s financial crisis grew deeper Monday when it skipped $37.3 million in debt service payments.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced on Wednesday that the commonwealth will default on $37.3 million out of nearly $1 billion of debt payments due on Jan. 4, a “mild” default, according to one analyst, and one that could threaten the governor’s plans congressional help.

Puerto Rico's economic activity index showed that the island's economy took a step backward in November.

Puerto Rico's governor lashed out at a federal government court brief that the governor said undermined the commonwealth's self-governing status.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s two biggest bond insurers scored a victory in the authority’s Christmas Eve debt restructuring deal.

Bills introduced by Senate and House Democrats on Monday to temporarily halt litigation over Puerto Rico debt raise legal issues and could divide rather than unite lawmakers over a solution to the territory’s debt crisis, sources said on Wednesday.

Puerto Rico Sen. President Eduardo Bhatia Gautier said that he would not run to become governor in November 2016.

Four Senate Democrats and the House Minority Leader have introduced identical bills that would temporarily halt litigation by bondholders and creditors over Puerto Rico’s debt until Congress takes action to allow the territory to restructure the debt.

Puerto Rico is paying its annual Christmas bonus amid concerns about whether it will pay all its bond debt Jan. 1.

Puerto Rico’s employment went up for the fifth consecutive month on a month-to-month basis in November.

Congress postponed action on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis to next year as the island’s governor blasted U.S. legislators as pawns of Wall Street.

Puerto Rico's electric utility reached a tentative agreement with bond-insurance companies and some bondholders to restructure the utility's $8.2 billion of debt, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority financial results in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 were mixed.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made a final pitch on Thursday for lawmakers to include provisions to help Puerto Rico with its debt crisis in the pending omnibus spending bill, calling it “the moral thing to do.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on Wednesday night that he is instructing all House committees that have jurisdiction over Puerto Rico to work with commonwealth officials to come up with a “responsible solution” for their fiscal and debt crises by the end of March.