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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (158640)	6/3/2020 8:38:54 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Respond to of 218176

High court backs Puerto Rico oversight board in blow to hedge fundsThe court ruled that the appointments are constitutional because the board’s powers are “quintessentially local,” rather than federal. The U.S. Supreme Court. \| Alex Wong/Getty Images By KATY O'DONNELL 06/01/2020 04:46 PM EDT FacebookTwitterLinkMore The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the federal oversight board established by Congress to resolve Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, reversing a lower court ruling in a case brought by hedge funds. The decision, which holds that presidential appointments to the oversight board are constitutional, will allow the panel to continue to restructure more than $100 billion in debt and manage what amounted to the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The board’s efforts to write down debt held by bondholders have long rankled Wall Street creditors eager to receive payments. Advertisement Investors in the island’s debt, led by the hedge fund Aurelius Capital, in 2017 challenged the creation of the Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico, comprised of seven voting members appointed by the president and one nonvoting member selected by Puerto Rico's governor. Aurelius had fought Argentina in court over its sovereign debt default for years before settling in 2016. Congress passed legislation in June 2016 to help Puerto Rico as the territory began defaulting on its debt, setting up the board to oversee the island’s finances and budget decisions. President Barack Obama appointed seven members to the board for three-year terms, selecting four from a list of Republican-approved candidates and three suggested by Democrats. A federal appeals court in Boston last year upheld the investors’ challenge, ruling that the appointments were unconstitutional because they had not been confirmed by the Senate. But it did not grant creditors’ request to void the board’s previous actions, which included imposing deep budget cuts and starting bankruptcy proceedings. The Supreme Court appeared conflicted during oral arguments in October over whether restructuring the debt — much of it held by U.S. investors outside of the commonwealth — is a federal or territorial matter. The board argued that its members are “territorial officers” who can be appointed by the president without the Senate’s advice and consent; creditors argued that they are high-level federal officers subject to the appointments clause of Article II of the Constitution, making the existing board unconstitutional. The court on Monday ruled that the appointments are constitutional because the board’s powers are “quintessentially local,” rather than federal. POLITICO NEWSLETTERS Morning TaxSign up for our tax policy newsletter and stay informed — weekday mornings, in your inbox. SIGN UP By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The board’s actions, including cutting pension payments for retired public employees, have not been popular in the territory either. A labor union representing employees of the island’s electric utility sided with Aurelius. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, wrote a separate opinion reluctantly siding with her colleagues Monday. Advertisement Promote health. Save lives. Serve the vulnerable. Visit who.int "The Board's decisions have affected the island's entire population, particularly many of its most vulnerable citizens,” she wrote. “It is under the yoke of such austerity measures that the island's 3.2 million citizens now chafe.” As the board has recommended cuts to health care services on the island, Puerto Rico has been slammed by devastating damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and a series of earthquakes earlier this year. Its relief efforts have been complicated by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Res. Cmmsr. Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, said the high court’s decision reaffirms that “we are a colony without political or economic power,” in a tweet in Spanish. MOST READ Trump slams North Carolina and says he's moving GOP convention elsewhere 'It just doesn't seem right': Pentagon officials on edge over military leaders' dealings with Trump Republicans chastise Trump for ousting protesters, church photo-op ‘Outraged’: Trump faces condemnation for clearing protesters, threatening military force Steve King ousted on historic primary night FILED UNDER: U.S. SUPREME COURT, PUERTO RICO, FINANCE & TAX SHOW COMMENTS POLITICO FacebookTwitterLinkMore