When looking forward at the county's $504 million in outstanding general-obligation debt, the rating agency revised its outlook to negative from stable.

Look at California's debt, for example.

He had already begun to slash away at Wang's $1.1 billion debt, laying off thousands of employees, closing plants and selling off assets.

You must pay at last your own debt.

Next, throw as much money as possible at your most expensive debt.

Analysts look askance at a government's high debt, and, at around $32 billion, the city's debt is almost equal to its annual spending plan.

President-elect Bush says it's time to take "a whole new look" at the third world's $1.3 trillion debt.

The fear is that they will be squeezed hard, especially when Zell looks at the company's debt.

Yesterday, though, others said that while chipping away at the city's heavy long-term debt might be fiscally ideal, it was politically impractical.

The estate tax issue played a role, though another factor was that Colangelo's partners were upset at the team's large debt.