Refco Inc. struggling to survive after its former chief executive was accused of hiding bad debts to dupe investors, on Thursday said a key unit no longer had enough liquidity to operate, sparking a sell-off in its bonds and fueling fears of possible bankruptcy, Reuters reported. Just a day after former CEO Phillip Bennett was charged with securities fraud, the commodities and futures brokerage said it was halting activities at its Refco Capital Markets unit -- a fixed-income, equities and foreign exchange brokerage -- for 15 days to protect its value. Share trading in Refco, , which only went public two months ago, was suspended ahead of the latest announcement and did not resume, with the New York Stock Exchange saying it had to evaluate the need for more disclosure and the continuing listing of Refco. But the news rocked Refco's bonds, cutting their price in half to 35 cents, according to MarketAxess. It had traded as high as 108.25 cents on the dollar late last week. "This company is in serious jeopardy," said analyst Kevin Starke with Weeden & Co., adding that the bonds trading level suggested that bankruptcy is an increasing possibility. --more 2256 Local Time 1956 GMT
