Hedge funds tread carefully around Detroit bankruptcy

Unsettling bankruptcy opportunities

Detroit runs out of gas – and money

The July 18 announcement that the city of Detroit, Michigan, would file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy came as a surprise to no-one. Once the epicentre of the US automotive industry, the Motor City has quite literally struggled to keep the lights on in recent years as its industrial core collapsed following the financial crisis.

Residents were forced to move elsewhere for work and Detroit’s population dwindled from a 1950s high of 1.86 million to 700,000 residents in 2012. After racking up $18 billion