U.S. Bancorp (USB), Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (STP): This Week in Solar

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Suntech is still alive … sort of
The strange news of the week was another forbearance agreement on Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:STP)‘s debt. The company will delay payment of $541 million of notes originally due in March until Aug. 30, the second extension of forbearance. It’s unclear exactly how many bondholders agreed to the delay or what Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:STP) will do in the meantime, but it’s supposedly working with creditors to keep the company alive.

What is clear is that investors shouldn’t buy Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:STP)’s stock. The company is in terrible shape financially, and the delays in payments to bondholders show that stakeholders won’t bail the company out quickly. I think Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:STP) will eventually be bankrupt and equity investors will be left with nothing.

News and notes

Hanwha Solarone Co Ltd (NASDAQ:HSOL) announced another $100 million in financing this week, this time a term loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) made a big splash this week by announcing a partnership with Samsung Renewable Energy to build manufacturing capacity in Canada. The venture will supply modules to at least 200 MW worth of projects Samsung is building and will probably grow that base in the future.

Slowly but surely, the solar industry is going mainstream, and this week saw a few steps in that direction.

The article This Week in Solar originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Travis Hoium.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase.

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