Some are prospering, but others have been forced to seek Chapter 11 protection for their debt-laden companies - or give them up altogether.
New jobs and rising salaries meanwhile face an extra challenge in the limited access many debt-laden companies have to financing.
That kind of performance persuaded numerous debt-laden companies that the time had come to go public, and they rushed to market.
How Daewoo, a debt-laden company, plans to finance the rapid expansion is not exactly clear.
It's too early to tell if all of these debt-laden companies are destined to go belly up.
Many debt-laden companies emerged as more efficient operations, but not without great personal and social costs.
And, of course, many experts also worry about the ability of these debt-laden companies to cope with any decline in the economy.
He's especially warning his clients to beware of debt-laden companies.
The committee of creditors who have been running the debt-laden company have failed so far in efforts to sell it.
Almost always, the debt-laden companies had to sell assets to stay afloat, which is why these deals were often called bust-ups.