The settlement terminates credit default swaps Morgan Stanley purchased from MBIA to protect holdings of commercial mortgage-backed securities and resolves the pending litigation between the two and will see an undisclosed cash payment from the bond insurer to the bank.

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Greece continues to work with creditors toward a settlement to avoid a disorderly default.

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As I spell out in an article in the April 25, 2011 issue of Forbes Magazine, investors in these tobacco-settlement securities may now be holding bonds at risk of default.

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However, following the announcement Thursday of a multi-billion dollar settlement over mortgage servicing, CDS widened (showing perceived greater default risk) by 0.14-0.34%, according to CreditSights.

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Such a settlement would remove Moscow from the restrictive provisions of the Johnson Debt Default Act of 1934, thereby permitting the Soviet issuance of bonds and other debt instruments in the United States and on a dollar-denominated basis.

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Those without health insurance, who are therefore forced to pay whatever the hospital decides to charge them, or default on their bills, or desperately negotiate some kind of settlement.

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These efforts include gaining commitments from private-sector participants to automate and standardize the clearing and settlement process, encouraging improved netting and cash settlement arrangements, and supporting the development of a central counterparty for credit default swaps.

FORBES: Transcript