The FDIC's current approach, subject to change at the whim of the bureaucracy, is that it will seek to protect the creditors, and particularly the short-term creditors, of the operating subsidiaries while seeking to impose losses on the long-term creditors of the parent companies.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Dodd-Frank Downgrade

According to Mr Eyerman, he is acting in a way similar to how an independent judge would act in a Chapter 11 proceeding, giving Alstom short-term protection from creditors so that its managers can try to show that the firm is worth financing in the capital markets.

ECONOMIST: Going bust in Europe

But I believed that if each of us were willing to work and sacrifice in the short term -- workers, management, creditors, shareholders, retirees, communities -- it could mark a new beginning for a great American industry.

WHITEHOUSE: Fighting for American Auto Workers

These giant debts triggered the crash of 2008 because creditors refused to roll over short-term loans to banks, and caused the simultaneous recession because banks stopped lending, and have brought about our current economic malaise because our ability to spend and invest is hobbled by the imperative of repaying what we owe.

BBC: UK's debts 'biggest in the world'

True, South Korea and Thailand have persuaded creditors to convert much of their short-term debt into long-term obligations.

CNN: Bracing for a Default

The government has condemned the outstanding creditors as "vulture funds" - a term for investors that buy sovereign debt at a discount and sue to recover its full value.

BBC: Argentina achieves new debt swap

He had to reassure potential creditors that the government had a plan for tightening fiscal policy in the medium term, while convincing voters that any such austerity would not wallop them personally or at once.

ECONOMIST: Politics and the British budget