NY Times running on fumes

by mtippett | November 10, 2008 at 01:31 pm

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As a citizen who relies on The Times for news I find the prospect of their bankruptcy a terrifying prospect. I am amazed at the shortness of the timeframe here.

The New York Times Company's 10Q (NYT) contains more details on the company's cash crunch.
Specifically, the company must deliver $400 million to lenders in May of 2009, six months from now. The company has only $46 million of cash on hand, and its operations will likely begin consuming this meager balance this quarter or next. The company has been shut out of the commercial paper market, but has a $366 million short-term credit line remaining that it entered into several years ago, when the industry was strong. It has not yet drawn this cash down, and given the current environment and the trends at the company, we would not take for granted that it will be able to do so.