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December 29,
2006
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>
name='1'>Georgia
size='3'> Leads
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
Bankruptcy Filings
During the first three
quarters of 2006, more bankruptcy petitions were filed in
size='3'>Georgia
size='3'>than in any other state, the
size='3'>Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported
today. While filings nationwide surged prior to the implementation of
the new bankruptcy law and then plummeted,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Georgia
size='3'>jumped to the top simply because filings didn't decline as
much here as in other large states. For example,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>California
usually tops the charts, witnessed filings that were 75 percent lower in
the first three quarters of 2006 than in the same period of 2005.
size='3'>Georgia
size='3'>'s high ranking doesn't necessarily mean that the state's
economic conditions are the worst in the country. It's more likely a
reflection of
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Georgia
size='3'>'s slate of creditor-friendly laws. Hurdles to filing and
additional costs will discourage some consumers, said ABI Resident
Scholar
size='3'>David Skeel.
However, he said that since it will be more difficult for consumers to
dump credit card debt through bankruptcy, some lenders might respond by
extending even more debt, which could lead to more consumer
filings.
href='http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2006/12/29/bizbankrupt1229a.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=6'>Read
more.
Airlines
name='2'>Comair Pilots Postpone Strike Deadline
Comair and leaders of the Air
Line Pilots Association that represents company's 1,500 pilots have
agreed to postpone the deadline for reaching a consensual wage-cutting
deal, the Associated Press reported today. Comair pilots had authorized
union leaders to call a strike if the airline throws out their contract
and imposes wage cuts and other concessions on them. The airline had
planned to do that on Saturday if a deal wasn't reached by then on pilot
concessions the airline says it must have to emerge from bankruptcy.
Union leaders agreed late Thursday night to a deferral until Feb. 2, and
both sides will continue to negotiate in an effort to reach a consensual
deal. The agreement also leaves pilot pay at its current level during
the deferral period.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Comair-Pilots.html?pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
Airways Not Increasing Offer for Delta
US Airways CEO Doug Parker said
that the airline had no intention of increasing its $8.4 billion offer
for Delta Air Lines and says it can't see itself backing out of its
pursuit of the bankrupt Atlanta-based airline, the Associated Press
reported today. ''We believe our offer is more than fair and don't feel
any need to amend it at this point,'' Parker said. Delta issued a
statement saying that it is moving forward with its stand-alone
reorganization plan because it believes its plan provides creditors with
''superior value as well as a faster recovery and much greater certainty
of execution'' than any competing proposal. Parker's comments came as
lawyers for Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, said Wednesday
they have scheduled a Feb. 7 hearing in bankruptcy court to consider
approval of the disclosure statement to the carrier's stand-alone
reorganization plan.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Delta-US-Airways.html?pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
name='4'>Solutia Updates Reorganization Plan
Chemical maker Solutia
revealed an updated reorganization plan that shifts bondholder claims of
nearly $455.4 million from the general pool of unsecured debt to a
special category entitling them to receive a greater amount, the
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch reported today. Under the
original plan, the bondholders would have received between 48 cents and
56 cents on the dollar. If the plan goes through, the bondholders will
receive 80 cents on the dollar, in the form of 48.7 percent of the
common shares of Solutia after the reorganization. The revised plan
calls for Solutia to emerge from bankruptcy by March 31, with 108.3
million common shares and a total stock value of $1 billion.
href='http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/D0BCACA60ADB73858625725300122E6E?OpenDocument'>Read
more.
Approves GB Holdings' Bankruptcy Plan
Bankruptcy Judge
Judith Wizmur
size='3'>approved GB Holdings’ chapter 11 after billionaire
investor Carl Icahn agreed to pay about $53 million for the company's
remaining stake in
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Atlantic
City's Sands Hotel &
Casino, Dow Jones Newswires reported today. After more than a year of
sparring with GB Holdings creditors, Icahn agreed to pay $53 million for
the company's 28.8 percent stake in Atlantic Coast Entertainment
Holdings, an Icahn-controlled affiliate. Last month, Pinnacle
Entertainment purchased the casino for $250 million. An Icahn affiliate
owns 77 percent of GB Holdings while Robino Stortini owns a 16 percent
stake. Robino Stortini, the sole holdout to a deal after bondholdhers
agreed to make peace with Icahn, said it would sell its rights to
purchase stock in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Atlantic
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Coast
to Icahn for $3.7 million, according to court
papers.
href='http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-5/116737492284020.xml&coll=1'>Read
more.
name='6'>Bankruptcy Judge Approves Neoplan
w:st='on'>
size='3'>USA
Chapter 11 Plan
Bankruptcy Judge
Brendan L. Shannon
has approved Neoplan USA Corp.’s chapter 11 plan,
paving the way for the bus manufacturer to sell its profitable parts
division and then go out of business, the Associated Press reported
yesterday. Judge Shannon signed off on the Colorado-based company's
reorganization plan on Dec. 21 following a confirmation hearing. Under
the plan, Chief Executive Harold Boade would stay on following Neoplan's
emergence from chapter 11 to oversee the sale of the company's Neopart
parts-and-service business based in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Honeybrook
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Pa.
held company owes a group of senior secured lenders, led by the Bank of
New York, $18 million and its unsecured creditors $41 million.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061228/neoplan_usa_bankruptcy.html?.v=1'>Read
more.
name='7'>Homeowners Cut Prices, Drawing Some Buyers
Back
The National Association of
Realtors said that the sales rate for previously owned homes rose in
November for the second straight month as homeowners eager to sell their
properties in a crowded market cut their prices, the New York Times
reported today. The industry group reported that sales of existing homes
increased 0.6 percent over October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate
of 6.3 million. But sales remained significantly behind last
year’s levels, falling 10.7 percent from November 2005. The median
price, the midpoint of prices for homes sold, dropped to $218,000 in
November, down 3.1 percent from a year earlier.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/business/29econ.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
name='8'>Estimates for Local and State Government Pensions
Tighten
The states of New York,
New Hampshire, Tennessee and about a dozen other governments may no
longer be able to say their pension funds are fully funded as accounting
rule makers have proposed an amendment that would force these
governments to provide a more realistic estimate of how much they owe
retirees over time, the
size='3'>New York Times reported today. The
Governmental Accounting Standards Board, an independent body that sets
the rules for state and local governments, is also proposing that an
outside auditor be required to vet this new financial snapshot. It is
not yet clear whether the rule change will give rise to any big new
pension shortfalls in
w:st='on'>New
York
rule is expected to take effect near the end of 2007, and the market
conditions prevailing then will determine whether any shortfalls or
surpluses appear.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/business/29gasb.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
w:st='on'>
name='9'>California
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> Panel Will Study Pension and
Health Obligations
Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) set up a commission on Thursday to study how
to meet pension and health care obligations, Reuters reported yesterday.
The 12-member commission will have one year to study the problem,
determine the extent of unfunded liabilities and devise a plan.
size='3'>California
size='3'>’s finance director said in September that the state
could face staggering costs from financing pensions, health care and
other benefits for public employees. One legislative analyst estimate
puts the costs at nearly $70 billion over approximately 30
years.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/business/29pension.html?pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
Packages Allow Executives to Jump Ship with Less Risk
While “golden
parachutes,” or rich exit packages of extra cash, stock or
retirement benefits, are needed at times to help the exit of a chief
executive, “golden hellos” that include bonuses, stock
options, restricted stock and pension benefits are increasingly needed
to get them in the door, the
size='3'>New York Times reported today. Such
multimillion-dollar payments and perks are used to draw in not only
chief executives, but virtually every member of the executive suite.
Matching salaries, guaranteed bonuses and millions of dollars in stock
options are typical. “What’s happening with these make-whole
packages is that they have no relationship with performance at the new
company, said Eleanor Bloxham, president of the Value Alliance, a group
that advises companies on corporate governance. “You’re
paying people, really, a guaranteed bonus or, in fact, a guaranteed
everything.”
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/business/29whole.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/business/29whole.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print'>