zombie company n.— «A new phrase, “zombie companies,” was coined to describe those companies kept alive by banks even though they were insolvent. Some were property companies the value of whose assets had fallen by more than 30 per...
sweatbox n.— «What will happen when they do have to pay it back includes nonstop calls to them and their parents. Credit card collection agencies know how to harass, threaten and then sweet-talk cardholders who are late. They even have a...
zombie n.— «Investments which last for much longer than the five-year standard nowadays often go one of two ways: either the company is killed off by the weight of its borrowings or it becomes what is known as a “zombie”—a business that...
no-shop period n.— «Avaya has agreed to be bought out by Silver Lake and TPG Capital, two private equity firms with significant technology holdings, but analysts have said Avaya likely will be saddled with more debt by the deal...
get one’s bait back v. phr.— «Bain and its co-investors extracted special payments of over $100 million from each company, enabling Bain to make a healthy profit even before re-selling the businesses—a practice known as “getting...
jingle mail n.— «Kosciuszko said the mortgage insurance industry coined the term “jingle mail” because homeowners whose mortgages were worth far more than their homes literally mailed their house keys in to lenders...