But there seem to be no clauses in the prospectuses for Greek government bonds that would trigger accelerated payment of the rest of what's owed on any particular bond in default or that would put other bonds into default: in the jargon, there are no accelerated payment or cross-default clauses.

BBC: Is a Greek default so bad for Greece?

Both could very likely get lower interest rates from private lenders if those lenders got the promise of a part-gold payment in the event of default.

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The deal, in theory, avoids the possibility of a imminent default on US payment obligations and lets Republicans off the hook.

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So in theory if cross-default or accelerated payment clauses were unexpectedly to turn up in bond documentation, the Greek parliament could legislate to make them null and void.

BBC: Is a Greek default so bad for Greece?

In the meantime, threatening default on the interest payment is an important club Clearwire has to swing at Sprint.

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If McCourt were not to meet his player payroll for May, then MLB would have 48 hours to make the payment before the players union filed a default notice which would make all the unpaid players free agents in 10 days.

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When lots of similar receivables are bundled together in an asset-backed security, the average rates of default, late payment and pre-payment are predictable, so both issuers and investors can be relatively confident of their ability to value the security properly.

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In 2007 analysts at MBIA had started noticing strange things in the loan pools, such as mortgages that went into default without a single payment being made.

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If the Big Three defaulted on their debts, holders of credit default swaps--which in recent years have grown like toxic weeds--would demand payment from those who wrote the insurance on the automakers' bonds.

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