A few months ago, when I saw ads plastered all over investment publications for 11% high yield investment notes from Advanta, I thought I'd look into it a bit further since it seemed too good to be true. Perhaps it was. A few weeks back, I saw an article on how Advanta will have to repay as much as $35 Million in restitution for alleged violations of federal consumer protection and banking laws, which obviously isn't helpful to the company's already-stressed balance sheet. Then, on Friday, Advanta announced that it was laying off half its workforce. On Friday, shares closed at 28 cents; not exactly a resounding endorsement of the prospect for recovery.

For existing holders of Advanta's high yield notes, this could be a rough patch. The only good news? This is the first weekend in several months that I haven't noticed an ad for their high yield investment notes.

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