In some cases, this may mean losing a bit of principal if investors haven't incurred enough interest to cover a CD's early-withdrawal penalty, notes Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.
But a sale would probably leave slim pickings for U.S. holders of Venture's now-defaulted bonds, judging from the market's response to events: Senior subordinated notes in Venture have been trading for as little as 3 cents on the dollar.