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August 24, 2006
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size='3'>
id='1'>U.S.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> Moves to Prevent Strike at
Northwest Airlines
The U.S. Attorney's
Office in
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>New York
filed court papers yesterday urging a judge to bar flight
attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp. from striking, the Associated
Press reported yesterday. Flight attendants have said they may stage
sporadic, unannounced strikes after 9:01 p.m. CDT Friday unless
Northwest negotiates a better contract with them. U.S. Bankruptcy
Judge Allan L.
Gropper ruled last week that he has no
jurisdiction to block a strike. A federal judge in
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size='3'>Manhattan
to hear Northwest's appeal on Friday. The U.S. Attorney's Office brief
said that Gropper was wrong, and that Northwest and the flight
attendants are obligated to bargain as required by the Railway Labor
Act, which governs labor relations at airlines.
href='http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003221418_webnwair24.html?syndication=rss'>Read
more.
Autos
id='2'>Tower Automotive Gains
Extension, but Must Draft Plan
A bankruptcy court has
conditionally agreed to give Tower Automotive Inc. 60 additional days to
file a reorganization plan and solicit creditor support,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. Judge
size='3'>Allan L. Gropper of the
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>Bankruptcy Court in the Southern
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>District of New York said in court
documents filed Monday that if Tower fails to submit a draft of its plan
to the unsecured creditors' committee and pre-petition secured lenders
by Sept. 7, he would consider the company's request for more time at a
hearing “to be scheduled as soon as practicable after Sept.
7.” The ruling marks the sixth time the bankrupt auto parts maker
has been granted an extension in its chapter 11 proceedings. Tower filed
the extension request with the court on Aug. 4, seeking until Oct. 25 to
submit a restructuring plan. The auto parts maker’s exclusive
right to file a plan was set to end Aug. 26.
id='3'>Ford Looks at Possibility
of Alliances
The Ford Motor Company is
evaluating the prospects for alliances with other automakers even as it
moves ahead with its own revamping efforts, the
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>New York Times
size='3'>reported today. The evaluation of possible alliances is being
led by chief executive and chairman William Clay Ford Jr., who is
studying which partners might be a good fit. As part of the process, Mr.
Ford spoke last month with Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan
of Japan and Renault of France, who is involved in similar alliance
discussions with General Motors. Ford asked Ghosn to consider talks with
Ford if discussions with GM did not work out.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/business/24ford.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
size='3'>Tenneco Freezing Pension Plan for
Most
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Workers
Auto parts maker Tenneco
Inc. said that it was freezing pension benefits for most of its
size='3'>U.S.
effective Jan. 1, becoming the latest
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>company to say it is no longer willing to guarantee the
post-retirement security of its employees, Reuters reported yesterday.
The Lake Forest, Ill.-based company, which makes mufflers and shock
absorbers, said the move would affect about 5,400 salaried and nonunion
hourly employees. Starting in 2007, those workers -- nearly 90 percent
of Tenneco's
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>workforce -- will be eligible to participate in a new 401(k)
plan instead, the company said.
size='3'>Tenneco estimated the change would save it $11 million a year
before taxes. It also said it expected to book a one-time pre-tax gain
in the fourth quarter of between $6 million and $7 million as a result
of the move.
href='http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-08-23T170730Z_01_N23477860_RTRIDST_0_MANUFACTURING-TENNECO-UPDATE-1.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna'>Read
more.
Judge
Allows Riverstone to
Overhaul Shareholder Deal
Bankruptcy Judge
Christopher Sontchi
has approved Riverstone Networks Inc.’s request to
revamp an old shareholder lawsuit settlement that will enable the
bankrupt Ethernet provider to recoup nearly $1 million in fees
originally paid to shareholders’ lawyers,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. Judge Sontchi approved the request this
week, saying in court documents filed on Wednesday that the deal on
attorney fees is in the best interests of Riverstone's creditors. In
June, the company had sought permission to make proposed changes to its
November 2004 shareholder settlement that will allow it to reclaim an
estimated $950,000 of the $1.75 million previously paid in legal fees.
The settlement resolved a number of shareholder suits against the
company, its officers and directors stemming from allegations of
misrepresentations or omissions in the company's financial
statements.
id='6'>Congoleum Reaches $17
Million Insurance Settlement
Bankrupt flooring company
Congoleum Corp. is one step closer to untangling its insurance situation
after Century Indemnity Co. agreed to pay $16.95 million to a trust
created to pay off asbestos claims filed against Congoleum,
Portfolio Media
reported yesterday. Roger S. Marcus, chairman of
Congoleum’s board of directors, said that the asbestos claimants'
committee and the future claimants' representative have voiced their
support for the settlement. The $17 million settlement brings the total
amount of insurance settlements reached to $207 million, and the company
said it is continuing negotiations with other insurance carriers. The
case is Congoleum
Corp., case number 03-51524, in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Trenton
size='3'>.
id='7'>JPMorgan Urges Bakery to
Complete Chapter 11 Case
JPMorgan Chase Bank, the
agent for Interstate Bakeries Corp.'s pre-bankruptcy lenders, has come
out in support of the company’s bid for an extension of its
exclusivity period, saying the company will keep faltering if it
doesn’t get out of bankruptcy protection soon,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. The bank filed the documents in the U.S.
District Court in the District of Western Missouri Friday, claiming that
it too wants the baking
size='3'>giant’s exclusivity period to extend until Jan. 31, 2007.
JPMorgan said its continued support “ultimately hinges on the
debtors’ success in achieving repayment of the pre-petition credit
agreement obligations.” The case is Interstate Bakeries Corp.,
case number 04-45814, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western
District of Missouri.
Ausam
Secures 90 More Days
to File Chapter 11 Plan
Biopharmaceutical company
Ausam Biotechnologies Inc. has won 90 additional days to retain its
exclusive right to put forth a reorganization plan, marking its second
extension since it filed for chapter 11 in February,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. Judge Robert D. Drain
extended the deadline for Ausam to submit a plan through Nov. 7 and
allowed the company to lobby for votes for the plan through Jan. 6 in
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on
Tuesday. Ausam argued for more time to submit its plan as it works to
wrap up the sale of its remaining antiviral product line and to settle a
dispute with Accumin Diagnostics Inc., a Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc.
subsidiary, which bought its immunoassay product line.
id='9'>Trustee Requested in
Check-Cashing Company’s Bankruptcy
The U.S. Trustee's Office
asked a bankruptcy court to appoint an independent trustee to oversee
the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Baltimore
A&B Check Cashing, the Baltimore Business Journal reported
yesterday. In court documents, the U.S. Trustee said the move was needed
because A&B engaged in an alleged check-kiting scheme. Two
size='3'>Baltimore
size='3'>Silver Spring
size='3'>Md.
Express Money Orders say they are owed millions of dollars by A&B,
which state regulators ordered shut down in June. The FBI has confirmed
it is investigating A&B.
href='http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/08/21/daily21.html'>Read
more.
href='http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-08-23T170730Z_01_N23477860_RTRIDST_0_MANUFACTURING-TENNECO-UPDATE-1.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna'>