The Internal Revenue Service regards as income any difference between what you originally owed on a debt and the amount you wound up paying to satisfy that debt.
For cyclical properties like airlines, industrials and even hotels, fixed-charge coverage of just one (suggesting that a company's earnings are just enough to satisfydebt, lease and principal repayment over the next year) can evaporate overnight.
By giving away some of his stock now, Mr. Davis says, he won't have to worry that his sons could be forced to take on debt or sell the company at a "fire-sale price" to satisfythe estate-tax bill they otherwise may incur upon his death.
The Argentinean steel producer Siderurgica del Orinoco is pressured to satisfy domestic demand, whereas foreign banks like Banco Hispano de Santander (Spain) are pushed to roll over the internal debt and lend cheaply to the domestic sector.