Whoops! A $2 Billion Blunder: Washington Public Power Supply System

Fallout from a record default spreads from Washington State to Wall Street

Fallout from a record default spreads from Washington State to Wall Street

D-day finally arrived last week for the Washington Public Power Supply System. D for default. D for debacle. With its coffers almost empty, WPPSS or Whoops, as everyone now calls the agency, formally declared that it could not repay $2.25 billion in bonds used to finance partial construction of two now abandoned nuclear power plants in Washington State. It is by far the largest municipal bond default in U.S. history, and the damage is incalculable. The fiasco has robbed thousands of...

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