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January 9, 2008
name='1'>Judges See Increases in
size='3'>Pro Se Consumer Bankruptcy
Filings
Bankruptcy judges are
saying that fewer attorneys have been willing to represent individual
debtors, leading to a spike in
size='3'>pro se bankruptcy filings,
Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy
Review reported today. Such filings have grown
to account for nearly 25 percent of all consumer filings in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Brooklyn
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.Y.
to Bankruptcy Judge Judith
Wizmur. The
recently took the unusual step of appointing a clerk just to
handle pro se
filings. “A lot of times they (filers) really are
not capable of filling out their forms properly,” said Judge
S. Martin Teel . Court clerks around the country say
they’re frequently asked by
size='3'>pro se filers for legal advice - a
request they’re obligated by law to decline.
size='3'>At the behest of Judge Wizmur, Teel and other members of the
Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group, the judiciary system recently launched
a Web site to assist pro
se filers. The site reminds filers that they
must complete credit counseling within 180 days of filing for bankruptcy
and warns against foreclosure fraud. It also provides links to other
sites that offer information on how to avoid
foreclosure.
name='2'>Consumer Credit Increased 7.5 Percent in
November
The Federal Reserve
reported that
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>consumers took on more debt in November, increasing their
credit card balances at the fourth-fastest pace during the six-year
expansion, MarketWatch.com reported yesterday. Total seasonally adjusted
consumer debt increased by $15.5 billion, or a 7.5 percent annual rate,
in November to $2.51 trillion after a revised 1 percent rise in October,
the Fed reported. It was the biggest gain in outstanding debt since
August. Credit card debt rose by $8.7 billion, or 11.3 percent, in
November to $937 billion after an 8.6 percent gain in October.
href='http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/economic-report-consumer-credit-jumps/story.aspx?guid=%7b2947B0AA-CF8B-4F79-A97F-13340A23381A%7d&dist=hplatest&print=true&dist=printTop'>Read
more.
Mortgage Lending
name='3'>American Home Mortgage Wins Contract
Fight
Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Chris
size='3'>topher S. Sontchi ruled that American
Home Mortgage does not have to transfer mortgage-servicing rights on
more than $1 billion of home loans to Wall Street banks,
face='Times New




Roman'
size='3'>Bankruptcy Law360 reported yesterday.
Judge Sontchi said that there was 'no basis' to require American Home
Mortgage to hand over the right to service the mortgage loans under a
contract the mortgage lender had inked with Credit Agricole SA's Calyon
New York unit, the plaintiff in the adversary proceeding. Calyon claimed
the contract between American Home Mortgage and Calyon New York Branch
involving the sale and repurchase of mortgage loans is a repurchase
agreement. However, American Home Mortgage said the contract is in
substance a secured financing deal.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/secure/ViewArticle.aspx?Id=43359'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='4'>Countrywide Denies Bankruptcy Rumors
Shares of Countrywide Financial
Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, partially recovered from a
midday plunge Tuesday after the company denied rumors that it was
planning to file for bankruptcy protection, the Associated Press
reported yesterday.
size='3'>Countrywide stock dipped as low as $5.76 before the New York
Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading in advance of the company's
statement that there was there was 'no substance” to the rumor
that it was planning to file for bankruptcy. The decline sent
stocks lower overall. The stock fell early in the day following a
report in The New York
Times that said court records show the lender
fabricated documents related to a bankruptcy case of a borrower
in
size='3'>.
href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_bi_ge/countrywide_financial_6&printer=1;_ylt=AtzWd9CsjQiysp.RAgS9PMRv24cA'>Read
more.
name='5'>Citigroup Combining Mortgage Operations into One
Unit
Citigroup, badly bruised
by the sharp downturn in the housing market, is bringing its
mortgage-related activities under one roof, the
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>New York Times
size='3'>reported today. Citi announced yesterday that Bill Beckmann,
the head of consumer mortgage operations, was put in charge of creating
a separate residential mortgage business unit that will issue, package
and collect payments on home loans. Those activities currently are done
by separate units within Citi’s consumer and investment bank
groups. The goal, executives say, is to create a business with a common
set of products, underwriting policies and back-office functions that
will allow Citi to reduce costs and better assess risks. It is unclear
how many jobs will be eliminated.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/business/09citi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
Bush
Looks to Reprise Tax-Relief Measures
Faced with recession
fears, the White House is considering tax rebates for individuals to
encourage spending and tax breaks for businesses to encourage
investment, the Wall
Street Journal reported today. The plan, if
finalized by the administration and passed by Congress, would mark
President Bush's first major steps to address the broad economic
slowdown. The president's main options include a tax rebate of perhaps
$500 for individuals to encourage spending and a change in tax laws that
would allow companies to deduct from their taxes a substantial portion
of investments in equipment. President Bush is expected to prepare the
economic-stimulus package before his State of the Union Address on Jan.
28.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB119985095047777331.html'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
KB Home said yesterday that its
fourth-quarter loss swelled as the housing slowdown led to fewer sales
and lower revenue, resulting in charges related to a write-down of
unsold inventory and a tax allowance, the Associated Press reported
yesterday. For the quarter that ended Nov. 30, the company had a loss of
$772.7 million, or $9.99 a share, compared with a loss of $49.6 million,
or 64 cents a share, in the period a year ago. The Los Angeles-based
builder took a pretax charge of $403.4 million to write down unsold
inventory and book losses from joint ventures. Excluding the tax
allowance, its loss was $399 million compared with $171.1 million last
year. KB Home said that the revenue decline largely reflected a 22
percent drop in new-home deliveries, which fell to 8,132 compared with
10,386 in the quarter of 2006.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/business/09home.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
name='8'>Biodiesel Fuel Maker Files for Bankruptcy
Biodiesel fuel maker
Bioenergy of America Inc. has filed for chapter 11, becoming the latest
company to stall out on the road in search of a cleaner alternative to
oil, according to wire reports. The Edison, N.J.-based company listed
assets of $1 million to $10 million and debts of $10 million to $50
million in its chapter 11 petition filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in
size='3'>Trenton,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.J.
Bioenergy of America, which produced 15 percent of all
the biodiesel sold in the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>United States
size='3'>in 2005, didn't say what prompted the bankruptcy
filing.
href='http://www.tulsaworld.com/common/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleID=20080109_5_E1_spanc62017'>Read
more.
name='9'>Texas Counties Protest
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Delphi
size='3'>Chapter 11 Plan
A group of
size='3'>Texas
are objecting to Delphi Corp.'s proposed reorganization plan, arguing
that the bankrupt auto supplier is attempting to get out of its current
tax obligations, Bankruptcy Law360
reported yesterday.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Bexar
size='3'>County
size='3'>Angelina
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>County
size='3'>and a host of other
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Texas
jurisdictions filed their objection on Monday to the reorganization plan
in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York,
seeking payment for taxes that will go delinquent after Jan. 31. The
municipalities also expressed fear over the open-ended nature of the
payment schedule.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=43431'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='10'>Creditor Daimler Dogs Northwest for $48
Million
Though Northwest Airlines
emerged from chapter 11 protection in May, the carrier continues to
battle certain creditors, most recently DaimlerChrysler Credit Services,
which is seeking payment of a $48 million claim,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Bankruptcy Law360
size='3'>reported yesterday.
size='3'>Daimler alleged that Northwest has tried to wriggle out of
paying the claim on the grounds that certain provisions of the
agreement, made in connection with the leveraged lease financing of a
Boeing B747, excuse the company's liability. However, Daimler claims
that Northwest would be excused from liability only if it had paid
stipulated loss value, which it has not. Northwest has claimed that it
should not have to assume the liability because Daimler agreed to
transfer its interest in the lease.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=43409'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='11'>Levitz Receives Approval to Use $47 Million in Cash
Collateral
Bankrupt Levitz Furniture
will be permitted to use almost $47 million in cash collateral to
finance its liquidation as it moves toward its exit from chapter
11, Bankruptcy
Law360 reported yesterday. On Dec. 3, the
presiding judge approved the sale of the company's assets to a group of
investors for $53.5 million in cash plus the proceeds from the sales of
other assets, expected to total an additional roughly $4 million,
according to court documents. The judge has also approved Levitz's
proposal to perform liquidation-style sales at its retail
stores.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=43447'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=43447'>