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August 30, 2006
id='1'>Business Bankruptcy Filings Likely to Set Record Low in
2006
The number of public
companies filing for bankruptcy in 2006 will likely hit a record low,
according to ABI executive director
w:st='on'>Sam
Gerdano
today. Only 34 public companies have filed for chapter 11 protection as
of last week, nearly half the number that filed in 1980, the first year
that current bankruptcy laws were put in place. That year experienced 62
filings, but 2006 will probably have only 50, Gerdano
says.
size='3'>“This is a reflection of the overall health of the
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>economy and the availability of businesses to access capital at
low interest rates, in historic terms,” Gerdano said. More options
abound for companies to build liquidity to avoid filing for bankruptcy,
he added. Still, the
number of public companies filing this year are slim compared to just a
few years ago. Near the end of August 2001, 171 companies had filed for
chapter 11, and the year ended with a total of 263 public companies
filing for bankruptcy. The number of filings fell to 125 in 2003, and
then 58 last year.
href='http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/7853209/c_7851879?f=home_todayinfinance'>Read
more.
id='2'>Claimants
Court
for
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>New York
size='3'>Medical
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Center
Anxious to see a wrongful
death suit proceed against Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center, a
group of malpractice claimants has lobbied the bankruptcy court to lift
a litigation stay protecting the health care provider from facing
further prosecution,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported yesterday.
On Friday, the group known collectively as the Martinez Claimants
submitted a motion, asking the court to modify the automatic stay so
that it could proceed with its pending state court wrongful death and
medical malpractice actions. The claimants
originally brought an action on behalf of Ms. Martinez against Saint
Vincent on Sept. 2, 2003, in the Supreme Court of the State of
York
w:st='on'>
size='3'>County
size='3'>Richmond
according to the complaint. A hearing on the matter has been scheduled
for Oct. 11. The case is
size='3'>Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New
York, case number 05-14945-ash, in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York.
Airlines
id='3'>NWA,
size='3'>to Meet Judge Today
Northwest Airlines and
its flight attendants union, which haven't resumed contract talks, are
set to meet today with the judge who urged them to negotiate when he
blocked a strike last week, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The
meeting with U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in
w:st='on'>
York
talks are possible, David Borer, general counsel of the Association of
Flight Attendants-CWA, said Tuesday. Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest
'remains available to resume discussions,' said company spokesman Kurt
Ebenhoch.
size='3'>Marrero
Friday said the union's 9,200 members at Northwest couldn't strike in
response to the airline imposing $195 million in annual pay and benefit
cuts.
href='http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/15392588.htm?template…'>Read
more.
id='4'>Delta Reaches Deal with Lender over Aircraft
Loans
With a $363 million loan
payment looming, Delta Air Lines has reached a deal with its loan
trustee over the financial arrangement connected to a portion of the
embattled carrier’s fleet,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported yesterday.
Judge Adlai
Hardin of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
size='3'>Manhattan
off on the agreement on Thursday, putting the finishing touches on the
deal brokered between Delta and U.S. Bank Trust National Association. In
September 2001, the pair, along with certain other parties, entered
into a
“pass-through financing arrangement” known as the 2001-1
EETC, according to court documents, which enabled Delta to finance 36
Boeing aircraft. In exchange, the company entered into a separate
indenture and security agreement for each aircraft. Under the
indentures, Delta makes payments on the equipment notes semiannually on
March 18 and Sept. 18, the court papers stated.
Autos
id='5'>J.L. French Withdraws Objections to Claims
The debtors in J.L.
French’s bankruptcy case decided to withdraw, without prejudice,
objections brought against the auto parts company’s claims,
Portfolio Media
reported yesterday. The group includes J.L. French
Automotive Castings Inc. and its subsidiaries, Nelson Metal Products
Corporation, Allotech International Inc. and Shore Line Industries
Inc. The debtors objected to about 150
claims in a motion submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Delaware. The court document asked that claimants file a
timely response as to why their claims were genuine. The debtors have
since withdrawn some of objections that included a claim filed by
Ellison Machinery in the aggregate amount of $241,357.90. The case
is J.L. French
Automotive Castings Inc., case number
06-10119-MFW, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Wilmington
size='3'>.
id='6'>Dana Supplier Must Wait to Learn of Contract Status, Judge
Says
A federal bankruptcy
judge in
size='3'>New York
largest supplier, Louisville, Ky.-based Sypris Technologies Inc., will
have to wait to learn the fate of its contracts with the
size='3'>Toledo
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Ohio
maker, Dow Jones Newswires reported today. Judge
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Burton R. Lifland
size='3'>on Monday rejected Sypris' request to have Dana decide by Oct.
3 whether to continue with its supply agreements. Judge Lifland said in
his order that it's still too early in Dana's bankruptcy case to force a
determination on the contracts. Last year, Sypris sold Dana more than
$120 million worth of parts under the contracts. Since the start of its
bankruptcy case, Dana has paid, on average, $4.4 million a week to
Sypris.
href='http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060830/BUSI…'>Read
more.
International
id='7'>Apparel Maker Says
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Vietnam
size='3'>'s Garment Industry May Face
Bankruptcies
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Vietnam
size='3'>'s biggest apparel maker said that the country’s $3
billion garment industry, which supplies Nike Inc. and Limited Brands
Inc., may see a surge in bankruptcies because of rising labor costs and
competition from
w:st='on'>
size='3'>China
Bloomberg News reported today. Half
of
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Vietnam
size='3'>'s 2,000 garment factories could file for bankruptcy in the
next two years, said Le Viet Toa, vice general director at Viettien.
Vietnamese workers are leaving garment factories for better-paying
office jobs, hurting an industry that's facing increased competition
from Chinese rivals who have moved production to the mainland's western
provinces where costs are lower than in
w:st='on'>
Chi Minh City
industry is
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Vietnam
size='3'>'s second-biggest foreign-exchange earner after crude oil, and
its decline may curb growth in an economy the government projects will
expand 8 percent each year in the next decade.
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a__gp6_q2nRE&refer=…'>Read
more.
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