Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) dropped 10% Friday on news that first began circulating late yesterday: Burdened by debt and with no free cash flow to pay for it, Clearwire may be forced to "restructure" its obligations.

So what: That doesn't sound so bad, now does it? Well ... it may not sound bad until you remember that "restructure" is actually a nice way of saying "default." Run a headline reading: "Clearwire is considering defaulting on its debt," and then see how people react.

Now what: The problem with asking for a "restructuring," though, is that it generally gives lenders the option of declaring you in default of your obligations -- which is itself a nice way of saying "insolvent," or even "bankrupt."

And folks, that's basically what Clearwire is today. Bankrupt -- or near enough to it. Oh, Clearwire's got cash in the bank all right -- $830 million, in fact. But it's not bringing any more in the door (to the contrary -- free cash flow for the past year ran to negative $2.7 billion), and it's got a $4.1 billion debt load that dwarfs its cash balance. Meanwhile, Clearwire needs to spend $600 million to upgrade its network.

Add Clearwire's "restructuring" talk to this already precarious position, and there you have it: A recipe for a 10% stock price decline.

Will the Clearwire story have a happy ending? Add it to your Watchlist and find out.