src='/AM/Images/headlines/headline.gif' />
January 13, 2005
NAM: Set $140 Billion Cap on Asbestos Compensation
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President John Engler
yesterday said manufacturers are committed to an asbestos compensation
fund no larger than $140 billion and said momentum is building for
congressional action this year, CongressDaily reported.
Engler said a trust fund is needed to give certainty to
companies—particularly those trying to emerge from bankruptcy
protection—about costs of pending claims. Engler said negotiations
last year produced a “very robust” $140 billion number that
could be supported by insurers, asbestos trusts and employers, and said
the figure is significantly less than an estimated $240 billion cost
through the legal system. Engler made his comments during a briefing
yesterday to outline NAM’s legislative priorities, which also
include class action overhaul.
Delta Air Lines Sees Record Web Site Sales
Delta Air Lines Inc. said yesterday it saw record sales on its web
site the day after it announced it was cutting its most expensive fares
by up to half, the Associated Press reported. On the day of the
announcement, Delta said it saw a 300 percent increase in single-day
traffic on its web site. In the first five days after the launch, ticket
sales on the web site increased 60 percent over the same period a year
ago. In its statement, however, Delta did not say anything about overall
revenues and profits. Critics of the program have suggested the changes
will cause revenues to drop significantly in the short-term, perhaps
longer, the newswire reported.
Details Released on Proposed Deal Between United, AFA
A tentative new labor contract between United Airlines and its flight
attendants calls for a 9.5 percent cut in base pay and other
concessions, the online Wall Street Journal reported. The
agreement, which was made available to members of the Association of
Flight Attendants this week, doesn’t include provisions related to
the termination of pension benefits, an issue that remains central to
the airline's bankruptcy case in the coming weeks, the online newspaper
reported.
Ultimate Electronics to Close Some Stores—Analyst
Ultimate Electronics Inc. would look to close some of its electronics
stores as it restructures under bankruptcy protection, an analyst said
yesterday, Reuters reported. Dan Wewer of CIBC World Markets said
Ultimate’s store closures would present rival Circuit City Stores
Inc. with a chance to get real estate it needs to relocate “a fair
number of old stores.” Ultimate Electronics, on Tuesday filed for
bankruptcy protection, ending a long struggle with declining sales and
shrinking market share due to competition. The retailer has more than 60
stores in the Rocky Mountain, Midwest and Southwest regions of the
United States, the newswire reported.
Does Yukos Stand a Chance at U.S. Bankruptcy Hearing?
After Yukos put the Russian government on the defensive with its
unorthodox strategy, the company—which won an injunction from the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston but failed to prevent the forced
sell-off of its main production subsidiary—is now playing defense
as it seeks to defend its right to seek chapter 11 protection in the
United States, Prime-Tass.com reported. Read the full
article at
href='http://www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=50&id=366654'>www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=50&id=366654.
US Airways
US Air Says Regulators OK Use of Federal Loan
Bankrupt US Airways today said federal regulators agreed to allow the
airline to extend its use of cash proceeds from a federal loan through
June 30, Reuters reported. The Air Transportation Stabilization
Board’s decision paves the way for the carrier to continue
operations while it completes its restructuring and planned emergence
from bankruptcy this summer, it said.
US Airways Fills Vacancies at Top
US Airways yesterday announced new management appointments in
response to the resignations and retirements of five top executives in
the past two months, the Washington Post reported. The
management appointments include a replacement for B. Ben Baldanza, US
Airways’ senior vice president of marketing and planning. Bruce
Ashby, US Airways’ senior vice president of alliances and
president of US Airways Express regional operations, was named
Baldanza’s replacement, the newspaper reported.
MCI
WorldCom Deal Was a Difficult Balancing Act
Reaching a deal with 10 former WorldCom Inc. board members that calls
on them to pay $18 million out of their own pockets to settle their part
of a massive class action was a delicate balancing act, according to
people involved in the negotiations, the Wall Street
Journal reported. The agreement among the directors was announced
last week by the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the lead
plaintiff in the shareholder suits against WorldCom. Read the full
article at www.wsj.com (subscription
required).
For Ex-WorldCom Chief, a Painless Settlement
John A. Porter is one of 10 former WorldCom board members who agreed
last week to pay a total of $36 million out of their own pockets as part
of a settlement with WorldCom investors who claim they were bilked by
accounting fraud at the telecommunications giant, the Daily
Business Review reported. But Porter, who was once
WorldCom’s chairman, may not have to pay anything himself. Read
the full article at www.law.com.
Former NYC Comptroller Is Named Loral Examiner
Loral Space & Communications Ltd. shareholders, previously shut
out of the company’s federal bankruptcy-court case, won a victory
with the appointment of former New York City Comptroller Harrison Goldin
as an examiner in the reorganization, the Wall Street
Journal reported. After months of legal battles in federal
bankruptcy court and federal district court in New York, representatives
of Loral shareholders today succeeded in getting approval of Goldin to
conduct a 30-day examination. As senior managing director of Goldin
Associates LLC, he has served as an examiner or trustee in a number of
big bankruptcy proceedings, including Enron Corp., the newspaper
reported.