Puerto Rico will miss a payment on debt due August 1, the governor's chief of staff said on Friday, an event that will be considered a default by investors as the commonwealth lurches towards what could be one of the largest US municipal debt restructurings in history.
The missed payment will mark the first default by the commonwealth and shows the depth of the island's economic and cash flow problems. Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla shocked investors in June when he said the island's debt, totaling $72 billion, was unpayable and required restructuring.
