Market Hurts Qwest, Cablevision Refinancing Options

Investment bank shutdowns and bankruptcies, coupled with billions in government bailouts for private companies, have strangled the credit market.

In fact, money is so hard to come by that Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q) and Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) said this week it’s thinking of using cash on hand to pay off debt, rather than trying to roll it over.

“The markets today will make us have to evaluate any debt,'' Bloomberg quoted Qwest CEO Edward Mueller as saying this week at a conference.