NTL asks banks for some more cash

NEWS NTL, the cable company struggling to manage around $17.5bn worth of debt, is expected to draw a $545m credit line from its banks in the next few weeks. The company needs the cash to help reassure suppliers that it can pay them while it restructures its existing debt. The Wall Street Journal quoted a source close to the situation as saying: "The credit gives NTL greater flexibility in the negotiations." The future of NTL is currently the cause of much industry speculation, with both AOL Time Warner and Liberty Media being linked with a possible buy-out.