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September 29,
2006
name='1'>Commentary: Counseling a Must for Bankruptcy Filers
Now
As a result of some
consumers preferring to handle their own filings, some bankruptcy cases
have been dismissed by courts because the debtors didn't realize that
they needed proof of credit counseling,
size='3'>USA Today reported today.
John Ventura, a bankruptcy lawyer who directs
the
size='3'>Texas
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Consumer
size='3'>Complaint
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Center
size='3'>at the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>University
size='3'>Texas
that if consumers take a counseling session and then re-file for
bankruptcy, their protection from creditors will be more limited than if
they'd undergone credit counseling the first time.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>While some may file for bankruptcy
without enough information, others may wrongly assume that the new law
will bar them from bankruptcy law protection.
href='http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/general/2006-09-28-mym-bankruptcy-u…'>Read
more.
name='2'>Commentary: Putting Pensions on Balance
Sheets
The Financial Accounting
Standards Board plans to issue a final rule today requiring companies to
include on their balance sheets the overall deficit or surplus for their
retirement plans, lifting the figure from often overlooked and complex
footnotes, according to a commentary in today’s
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Wall Street Journal
size='3'>. Bringing deficits for pension and other retiree benefit plans
onto the books could cause some companies' net worth, or shareholders
equity, to fall or even turn negative. That in turn could force some
companies to renegotiate covenants in debt agreements, or in some cases
hamper companies' ability to pay dividends. Lenders and ratings firms
typically factor the deficits into their calculations, so the change
isn't expected to cause upheaval at many companies even if it takes some
investors by surprise.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115948420779177300.html?mod=us_business…'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
Autos
name='3'>Judge Stalls Delphi Labor Hearing Again
In a bid to allow more
time for negotiations, a U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday further
delayed a hearing regarding bankrupt Delphi Corp.'s request for the
authority to cut wages and benefits for its U.S. hourly workers,
Portfolio Media
reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Robert Drain
size='3'>had already indefinitely postponed a hearing on the issue
earlier this month. On Thursday, he gave the sides another three weeks
to talk, setting a conference for Oct. 19, according to the auto parts
supplier. Judge Drain originally put off the hearing on the labor
contracts issues in order to help the parties work towards an amicable,
out-of-court resolution, according to insiders. The delay was also meant
to enable Delphi and General Motors Corp. to continue negotiating
over
size='3'>Delphi
request to toss out thousands of parts contracts with GM, its largest
customer. Judge Drain scheduled another conference on Oct.
19.
name='4'>Collins & Aikman Granted Exclusivity
Extension
A federal bankruptcy
judge has extended Collins & Aikman Corp.'s exclusive control over
its chapter 11 case by 30 days, half of the auto supplier’s
original 60-day request,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported yesterday.
On Monday, Judge Steven
W. Rhodes of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in
size='3'>Detroit
by a month the company's exclusive period to file a chapter 11 plan and
solicit creditor support. The semi-successful bid marked the fifth time
that Collins & Aikman was granted an extension. The supplier’s
exclusivity period was most recently scheduled to expire on Wednesday.
The case is Collins
& Aikman Corp., case number 05-55927, in
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern District of
Michigan.
name='5'>Ford Motor Credit to Cut 2,000 Jobs, Consolidate and
Centralize Operations
Following in the
footsteps of its auto-making parent, Ford Motor Credit announced a
restructuring of its North American operations that includes the
elimination of about 2,000 salaried jobs yesterday, the
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Wall Street Journal
size='3'>reported today. The financing arm of Ford Motor Co. said in a
press release it is 'consolidating and centralizing most of its
originations and servicing operations in the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>United States
size='3'>to reduce costs and improve process efficiencies.' Ford Motor
Credit noted that the North American restructuring is an extension of a
global transformation that's been underway for a decade. Two weeks ago,
Ford unveiled a revised version of its Way Forward North American
restructuring plan that was first announced in January. The new
blueprint calls for additional job cuts, a quicker pace of plant
closures and faster introductions of new models, among other
strategies.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115947389197377107.html?mod=us_business…'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='6'>Kerkorian Pushes GM for Renault-Nissan
Deal
Kirk Kerkorian, the
billionaire investor, said Thursday that he was willing to spend another
$400 million on General Motors stock in an apparent bid to pressure GM
to redouble its efforts to explore a possible alliance with Renault and
Nissan, the New York
Times reported today. The sides have been
talking since July 14, but with less than three weeks to go before a
self-imposed deadline, the discussions appear to be stalling,
particularly after GM indicated this week that it might insist on a
multibillion-dollar dowry from Renault and Nissan to reach an agreement.
That is where Kerkorian came in, disclosing in a regulatory filing and a
letter to GM’s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, that he is
interested in purchasing six million shares of GM and possibly as many
as six million more. Analysts said that the additional shares would give
Kerkorian more clout to demand an independent financial review of a
possible deal.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/business/29autos.html?_r=1&oref=slogi…'>Read
more.
name='7'>Adelphia Creditors Object to Dispute
Resolution
Two creditor groups involved in
Adelphia Communications Corp.'s chapter 11 proceedings have urged
noteholders to vote against the company’s reorganization
plan, claiming that
the proposed resolution of inter-creditor disputes will strip the notes
of their value,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported yesterday.
On Thursday, Adelphia filed two new position papers, which offer the
opinions of the Arahova Noteholders Committee and the ACC Bondholder
Group, respectively. The Arahova Noteholders paper advocates for a
continued mediation of the various inter-creditor disputes that have
long plagued the Adelphia bankruptcy. In their position paper, the ACC
Bondholders voiced a virulent objection to Adelphia’s
reorganization plan, urging holders of ACC senior notes to reject it
outright. The case is
size='3'>Adelphia Communications Corp. et al.,
case number 02-41729-reg, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of New York.
name='8'>Global Power Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Global Power Equipment Group
Inc., which designs and builds equipment for the global energy industry,
said Thursday that it and all of its U.S. subsidiaries filed for chapter
11 in Delaware, citing a cash drain at one of the units, the Associated
Press reported yesterday. Global Power said that 'escalating losses'
from certain projects at its Deltak heat recovery equipment unit led to
the filing. The company said that the unit notified employees of
significant job reductions before the filing and will begin to wind down
its heat recovery steam generator business unless it is able to
renegotiate terms of the money-losing projects.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060928/global_power_chapter_11.html?.v=1&printe…'>Read
more.
Ormet
Gets Bankruptcy Court Approval for Deal with
w:st='on'>Union
Ormet Corp., a privately
held
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>aluminum producer, said on Thursday that a bankruptcy court has
approved its settlement with the United Steelwokers of America, Reuters
reported yesterday. The order from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of Ohio resolves all outstanding union claims and
issues, and was unanimously agreed to by the USW and the company's
unsecured creditors, the company said. Ormet emerged from chapter 11 in
April 2005. Canonsburg, Pa.-based Ormet said that it will distribute an
additional 281,000 shares of common stock to its pre-petition creditors
according to their approved creditor claims.
href='http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&stor…'>Read
more.
International
name='10'>BenQ Mobile to File for Bankruptcy in
size='3'>Germany
BenQ Mobile plans to file
for bankruptcy protection in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Germany
size='3'>after its Taiwanese parent decided to stop investing in the
money-losing operation, IDG News Service reported today.
size='3'>Taiwan
BenQ Corp., which will continue to develop and market BenQ-Siemens brand
mobile phones, said that it made the decision because it saw no end to
the losses after already sinking over €600 million ($761.7
million) into the unit. BenQ said that the bankruptcy filing should not
affect customers since the parent company will continue to develop,
manufacture and sell BenQ-Siemens handsets from
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Asia
almost a year after BenQ took over the mobile phone business from
Siemens, and leaves the fate of 3,000 German workers at BenQ Mobile in
doubt.
href='http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/09/28/HNbenqmobilebankruptcy_1.html…'>Read
more.
name='11'>Polish Elektrim Files for Bankruptcy
Protection
Polish conglomerate
Elektrim SA filed for bankruptcy on Thursday in the Warsaw District
Court, the company said in a disclosure to security regulators, Dow
Jones Newswires reported today. The move precedes a scheduled bankruptcy
hearing Wednesday in the district court, brought by holders of
size='3'>€515 million in
defaulted Elektrim convertible bonds. Chief among Elektrim's remaining
assets is a disputed 48 percent stake in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Poland
large mobile telephone operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, or PTC, and 39
percent in power generator Zespol Elektrowni Patnow Adamow Konin
SA.
href='http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=64644&lang=fr…'>Read
more.
href='http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=64644&lang=fr…'>