Detroit said on Friday that it would stop making payments on some of its estimated $18.5 billion debt, which would put it in default, and the "insolvent" city called on most of its creditors to accept pennies on the dollar to help it avoid the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, Reuters reported on Friday. In a forceful opening salvo of negotiations with debt holders, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr announced a moratorium on some principal and interest payments, including one payment he said was due on Friday. Under his proposal, Orr said unsecured debt holders would be paid less than 10 cents on the dollar, but some creditors would get a bit more based on city revenue. Some $11.5 billion of the debt is unsecured and $7 billion secured, according to figures presented by Orr. Orr said that secured creditors would get better treatment, although how much better was not specified.
