Linens 'n Things to Go Bust

Linens ‘n Things ls expected to file for Chapter 11 by Tuesday, the deadline for a $15-million quarterly debt payment, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move would make the home-furnishings giant the first major retailer sunk by the housing crisis, after bloated debt and plummeting demand handed the New Jersey company $242 million in losses last year.

Linens 'n Things has faltered since Apollo Management bought it out in February 2006 to the tune of $1.3 billion. The company, which employs 17,000 people in its nearly 600 stores nationwide, will meet with its lenders and largest suppliers Monday in a last-ditch attempt to forestall filing. (More bankruptcy stories.)