"Lifting the Lid: Auction-rate debt tying up corporate cash" writes Reuters. The piece updates the problems with auction-rate securities, "debt instruments once touted as a highly liquid cash management strategy". It says, "Some 60 auctions have failed in recent months, representing about $6 billion in tied-up assets, according to Peter Crane, president and CEO of Crane Data LLC. See also, Bloomberg's "Munis Poised for Year's First Weekly Drop on Insurer Concerns".