src='/AM/Images/headlines/headline.gif' />
March 8, 2005
Minimum Wage Amendments Defeated as Bankruptcy Measure Nears
Approval
The Senate yesterday debated two competing proposals to increase the
minimum wage, CongressDaily reported. An amendment by
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ranking member Edward
Kennedy (D–Mass.), which would have increased the minimum wage
from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years, failed, 46–49. Senate
Republican Conference Chairman Rick Santorum (R–Pa.), whose
competing amendment failed, 38–61, said before the vote he would
have withdrawn his proposal if Kennedy had refrained from offering his.
The Senate is expected to address today an amendment offered by Sen.
Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) that has derailed the legislation in the
past.
Noting that House GOP leaders have pledged to take up the bankruptcy
bill quickly if the Senate passes it without further substantive
amendments, lobbyists supporting the legislation said they are
optimistic the Senate will reject the Schumer amendment. They also said
they expect the bankruptcy bill to garner the requisite 60 votes during
this afternoon’s scheduled cloture vote. Majority Leader Bill
Frist (R–Tenn.) said the cloture motion would allow an additional
30 hours of debate, so senators could continue to offer germane
amendments during that period if cloture is invoked. But Frist said he
expects the Senate to complete action on the bill today or Wednesday,
the newswire reported.
Car Loan and Credit Card Debt Set Quickened Pace in January
Buyers increased their borrowing on credit cards, auto loans and
other types of consumer debt at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in
January, the fastest pace in three months, the Federal Reserve reported
yesterday, the Associated Press reported. That represented an increase
of $11.5 billion in borrowing from December, double what many economists
had expected. It came after an increase of $8.7 billion in borrowing in
December, which was revised significantly from an estimate of a $3.1
billion increase in December. The 6.6 percent rate of increase in
January compared with a 5 percent rise in December and was the fastest
advance since consumer debt rose 8.2 percent in October, the newswire
reported.
Airline Discusses Purchase of Delta Unit
An executive at SkyWest Inc., the largest independently owned
commuter carrier, said yesterday that the airline had been in
discussions about a possible purchase of a commuter unit of Delta Air
Lines, Bloomberg News reported. SkyWest’s vice president for
finance, Michael J. Kraupp, told investors at a Raymond James conference
in Orlando, Fla., the airline is interested in Delta’s Comair or
Atlantic Southeast. Comair is the largest of the three airlines,
followed by SkyWest and Atlantic Southeast, based on 2004 passenger
traffic.
Air Canada Parent Eyeing Financings-Report
ACE Aviation Holdings, the parent of Air Canada, is set to unveil two
major financing deals designed to clean up its balance sheet and pave
the way for a makeover of the airlines company, a Canadian national
newspaper reported today, Reuters reported. The Globe and
Mail, citing sources, said the holding company of the airline is
set to announce as early as this week a revolving line of credit for as
much as C$300 million ($244 million). The company is also finalizing a
plan to sell securities to investors to help pay down a US$425 million
loan from GE Capital Corp.
Ebbers Jury Ends 2nd Day of Deliberations
A federal jury yesterday completed its second day of deliberations in
the fraud trial of former WorldCom Inc. CEO Bernard Ebbers without
reaching a verdict, Reuters reported. The jury briefly returned to the
courtroom twice to watch tapes of television interviews conducted with
Ebbers, which were previously played during the six-week trial. They
also asked for transcripts of some of the trial’s testimony to be
sent to the jury room. Jury deliberations will resume today.
Spiegel Creditors to Sue KPMG, Claim ‘Professional
Malpractice’
Spiegel Inc.’s creditors have been given approval by a federal
judge to sue KPMG LLP for certain alleged missteps that cost Spiegel at
least $100 million before it filed for bankruptcy, dmnews.com reported.
KPMG was hired to audit Spiegel’s 2000 and 2001 financial
statements. Spiegel’s committee of unsecured creditors said it
will sue KPMG, alleging ‘professional malpractice,’ the
Chicago Tribune reported. “KPMG remains confident
that it acted appropriately at all times and stands by its actions in
this matter,” spokesman Tom Fitzgerald told the newspaper.
Judge Sets a Deadline for KB Plan
A federal judge has ordered parties to the nearly 14-month-old KB
Toys bankruptcy case to come up with a reorganization plan by May 15,
Berkshire Eagle reported. At a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Wilmington, Del., last Thursday, Judge Donald Sullivan set the
deadline for the reorganization plan, and indicated that he may order
the appointment of a trustee to handle the case, the newspaper
reported.