MGM Mirage ends debt exchange offer
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Casino operator MGM Mirage said Thursday that it has ended a debt exchange offer because not enough debt holders accepted the deal.
The offer gave holders the chance to exchange up to
$782 million in 8.5 percent senior notes due in 2010 for up to $500 million in 10 percent senior notes due in 2016.
Only about $9.1 million of the notes had been tendered as of Wednesday. The minimum required for the offer was $25 million. Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn will be returned to their holders, the company said.
The exchange had been seen as a way for MGM to refinance some of its heavy debt. MGM, which billionaire Kirk Kerkorian has a sizable stake in, had $12.3 billion in long-term debt as of June 30.
August pending home sales rise to 21⁄2 year high
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
volume of signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for the seventh straight month in August as buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time owners that expires at the end of November.
The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 6.4 percent from
July to 103.8. It was the highest since March 2007 and 12 percent above a year ago. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would rise to 98.6.
Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer of future sales. However, new rules for home appraisals and rigid lending standards have scuttled many sales agreements recently.