Check out Linens ‘n Things talking with its creditors.
 
The company has deferred a $16.1 million debt payment that was due today and is in discussions with lenders to redo its capital structure.
 
The company, owned by Leon Black’s buyout firm Apollo Global Management,  already has been under pressure from other home goods sellers, including discounters Target and Wal-Mart, as well as Wiliams-Sonoma and Bed Bath & Beyond.
 
But amid the housing slump and with consumers tightening their wallets in what may already be a recession, the company now operates in a market when people are seldom buying linens or things.
 
Add to that the credit crisis, which has pressured the company’s vendors, leading to tighter credit terms for the company, it said.
 
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Linens ‘n Things could file for bankruptcy as early as today. A source told Reuters last week that bankruptcy was one possibility, but that it was not the top option.
 
Whether it files for bankruptcy or not, the world around Linens ‘n Things isn’t getting any better. Costs for food and energy drove the producer price index up 1.1 percent in March, retailers in general posted weak sales for the month and U.S. foreclosure filings jumped 57 percent in the 12 months ended in March.
 
On the plus side for consumers, there could be a big bedding sale in the near future.
 
Also in the basket:

Retailing chains caught in wave of bankruptcies (N.Y. Times)
 
Pershing Square offers to buy Borders’ businesses
 
Carrefour says plans unchanged by Blue Capital move

(Reuters photo)