Markets Drop as KKR Unit Delays Payment

Asian stocks slumped today after reports in the Financial Times that a struggling arm of private equity heavyweight Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. missed a second payment on billions of dollars of commercial debt just 6 months after two of its founders poured $270 million into the company. Investors cashed out as fears of a global credit meltdown flared, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

KKR Financial Holdings LLC, which invests in corporate debt and residential mortgages, has entered restructuring talks with its creditors, reports Bloomberg. Markets across Asia declined, with the Nikkei down 3.3%. Experts worried investors would continue to pull money from the markets, with some 1.46 million yen already withdrawn in January. “The picture is getting worse and worse,” said one analyst.