2015 Event Puerto Rico fails to make a $58 billion debt payment on bonds issued by the Public Finance Corporation; Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla warned creditors in June that debt restructuring will be needed to keep the government afloat 2015 Event Debt rating company Moody's downgrades Greece to a Caa3 rating after the country misses its $1.6 billion payment to the IMF; Greek citizens will vote July 5th on whether to accept austerity conditions in exchange for bailout funds 2015 Event Greece misses its $1.8 billion debt payment to the IMF after a bailout extension request was denied; Greek leaders had rejected making reforms in exchange for the funds, but Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is now willing to negotiate 2015 Event The Greek Parliament votes in favor of holding a referendum on July 5th regarding whether the country should accept reforms in exchange for continued bailouts; current bailouts expire on June 30th, the day that a $1.8 billion debt payment is due 2015 Event World leaders at the latest G7 meeting reinforce their commitments to reduce carbon-based emissions, reaffirm support for sanctions against Russia in light of the Ukraine conflict, and discuss issues related to Greece's debt load 2015 Event Negotiations break down between Greece's leftist Syriza government and the European Union regarding issuance of additional bailout funding; Greece has a deadline of tomorrow to repay USD $336 million of its existing debt 2015 Event New anti-austerity Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras halts the public asset privatizations required under Greece's bailout agreement with its foreign creditors; Standard & Poor's has lowered its rating on Greek national debt from stable to negative 2015 Event The European Central Bank will initiate a quantitative easing program that will involve printing euros in order to purchase government-issued debt instruments; the program will enhance existing measures to improve the economy within the eurozone 2014 Event Italian officials announce that many of the country's public assets will be sold in an effort to reduce the country's debt; plans to sell part of the nation's air traffic control and postal services have already been approved 2014 Event The Brazilian government plans to cut its spending by almost $19 billion this year in an effort to reduce the country's debt and inflation growth; economists have revised current year GDP and next year's growth forecast downward in recent weeks 2014 Event U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urges Congress to increase the debt ceiling because the U.S government debt is expected to hit $17.2 trillion soon 2014 Event The U.S. Senate votes to renew jobless benefits for 1.3 million Americans; the bill,calling for a three-month extension, will not be approved unless House Democrats agree to deal to cover $6 billion dollar cost without adding to the federal debt 2013 Event Detroit, Michigan files the largest municipal bankruptcy in history; the city of Detroit seeks CHapter 9 bankruptcy protection and is $18.5 billion in debt 2012 Event Standard & Poor's credit rating agency receives a ruling by an Australian judge that they misled investors in their rating of two-pre-crisis issues of structured debt 2012 Event Spain announces it expects its debt levels to increase in 2013 2012 Event President of France, Francois Holland finalizes a deal with Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to forgive $4.7 billion dollars in debt incurred by the Ivory Coast when it was a French Colonial Power 2011 Event In the French city of Cannes, the 2011 G-20 summit commences; discussions will focus on the continuing Eurozone debt crisis 2011 Event An emergency meeting to discuss the European sovereign debt crisis is held by leaders of the European Union 2011 Event The ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe causes European and Asian stock markets to open lower 2011 Event Italy's credit rating is lowered from A+ to A by Standard and Poor's rating agency, a result of its high level of debt and the stability of its government 2011 Event Renewed concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis cause Asian markets to fall 2011 Event With weak economic prospects and significant levels of public debt, Japan is downgraded to Aa3 by Moody's credit rating agency 2011 Event In an effort to stop the growth of household debt, South Korean banks temporarily stop making household loans 2011 Event Standard &: Poor's rating agency downgrades U.S. sovereign debt; the downgrade is the first in the history of the United States 2011 Event President Obama signs legislation to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, narrowly averting the debt ceiling crisis 2011 Event The U.S. Senate fails to pass legislation lifting the debt ceiling; compromise talks continue 2011 Event The U.S. House of Representatives votes to increase the debt ceiling; the Senate rejects the measure 2011 Event The International Monetary Fund approves a new three-year loan for Haiti worth $60 million, canceling Haiti's $268 million debt 2011 Event According to Moody's, Ireland's debt rating has been reduced to 'junk' status 2010 Event The European Union and International Monetary Fund present Greece with 120 billion Euro bailout package to help rid them of their sovereign debt 1986 Event U.S. national debt hits $2,000,000,000,000 1981 Event U.S. national debt tops $1 trillion 1971 Event South Africa national debt hits 5.45 billion 1962 Event U.S. national debt above $300,000,000,000 1934 Event U.S. Congress passes Johnson Debt Default Act 1929 Event President Von Hindenburg refuses to pay German debt of WW I 1912 Event Mark Sennet presents 1st Keystone Cops film (Cohen Collects a Debt) 1795 Event James Swan pays off the $2,024,899 U.S. national debt 390 Event Roman emperor Theodosius admits debt on mass murder in Thessalonica
