Teetering Conseco Posts a Huge Loss

Conseco posted a $1.77 billion third-quarter loss Tuesday as the insurer and lender teetered ever closer to bankruptcy.

The company announced two executive appointments in a midday press release, but it also reiterated its oft-made assertion that it is "pursuing a fundamental restructuring of its capital structure." A restructuring that would wipe out shareholders has appeared all but certain ever since Aug. 9, when the company said it would miss upcoming interest payments on its massive parent company debt.

In subsequent months, the company's well-compensated turnaround chief, Gary Wendt, stepped down from the CEO post he had taken just two years earlier. Conseco shares were subsequently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

On Tuesday, Conseco named William Shea CEO and Eugene M. Bullis financial chief. The company's thinly traded stock closed at a nickel on the over-the-counter bulletin board.