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June 15, 2006
name='1'>Trustee Wants Rap Mogul Kept Away from Record
Label
A U.S. trustee is asking
a judge to keep notorious rap figure Marion 'Suge' Knight from
controlling bankrupt Death Row Records after the mogul admitted to not
looking at the label's checkbook for 10 years,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. In court documents, the trustee describes
Death Row as a disorganized company in shambles because of the
“dishonest conduct and gross mismanagement” of Knight.
Steven Jay Katzman, the trustee, alleges that Knight borrowed $880,000
from the company prior to its demise and failed to pay taxes over the
years. More than $20 million is also missing from a record label bank
account. Katzman asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central
District of California to name a chapter 11 trustee in Death Row
Records’ bankruptcy case. Judge Ellen Carroll denied the request
for a fast-track appointment last week, but indicated she may consider
it later. Katzman asked for a July 7 hearing on the
matter.The case is Death Row Records
Inc., case number 2:06-bk-11205, in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of
California.
name='2'>Bankrupt Ladder-Maker Receives Approval of First-Day
Motions, DIP Funding
Bankruptcy Judge Kevin
J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware has approved all of the first-day motions that ladder-maker
Werner Co., based in Greenvile, Pa., and several of its affiliated
companies submitted as part of their chapter 11 filings for
reorganization, according to a Werner press release yesterday. Judge
Carey’s orders include approval of Werner's request to continue
payment of wages and benefits to employees and independent sales
representatives, fulfill customer orders and provide uninterrupted
customer service. Werner also received interim approval to access
$99 million in debtor-in- possession (DIP) financing provided by Black
Diamond Commercial Finance.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060613/nytu165.html?.v=50'>Read
more .
Autos
name='3'>Study Shows Auto Suppliers Continue to Face Insolvency
Concerns
No less than 38 percent
of all auto suppliers in
America
meaning that they could face insolvency within 24 months or less unless
they take urgent counteractive measures, according to a press
release yesterday by turnaround firm AlixPartners LLC on
the firm’s Automotive Vehicle Industry Review and Outlook study.
John Hoffecker, a managing director of AlixPartners, also said that 24
percent of all suppliers globally face the same danger. That would be in
addition to the $60 billion in major supplier bankruptcies in the
size='3'>alone since 2001. The firm’s study looked at 104
automotive suppliers, 22 automakers, 18 heavy-vehicle producers and 32
automotive conglomerates worldwide, and measured and compared them
across a wide range of financial and operating metrics.
href='http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/06/14/011251.html'>Read
more.
name='4'>UAW President Elected to Second Term
Members of the United
Automobile Workers union elected Ron Gettelfinger to another four years
as president on Wednesday, the
size='3'>New York Times reported today. UAW
members also elected five vice presidents and a secretary-treasurer,
part of a slate that ran with Gettelfinger. Delegates also elected 11
regional directors. Along with Gettelfinger, those officials make up the
union's International Executive Board, which is the UAW's governing
body. Gettelfinger is expected to name new union department heads for
General Motors, Ford Motor and the Chrysler Corp. who will lead
bargaining in next year's challenging contract talks.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/automobiles/15union.html?_r=1&oref=sl…'>Read
more .
name='5'>Ford Admits to Strategic Errors
Ford Motor Co. turnaround
chief Mark Fields acknowledged yesterday that the company made strategic
missteps in recent years with its over-reliance on sport-utility
vehicles, leading to the No. 2 automaker's current financial crisis,
the Washington
Post reported today. Fields, in
size='3'>Washington
w:st='on'>
size='3'>D.C.
with legislators and speak to corporate leaders, also called on
lawmakers to help level the playing field with Ford's international
rivals. In a speech before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Fields,
president of operations in the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Americas
size='3'>, said Ford grew too dependent on sales of gas-guzzling big
trucks and SUVs and paid too little attention to consumer trends. Fields
said Ford will concentrate on developing hybrid technology,
hydrogen-powered vehicles and vehicles capable of burning biofuels. He
urged oil companies and the government to help expand retail
distribution of ethanol with incentives, such as tax credits for
'flex-fuel' cars that can run on 85 percent ethanol.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR20060…'>Read
more .
Court
Asked to Overturn Conviction Against Adelphia Founder
A lawyer for John J.
Rigas, the 81-year-old founder of Adelphia Communications, told a
federal appeals court yesterday that the conviction of Rigas and a son
on fraud charges should be thrown out because accounting terms were not
explained to the jury, the Associated Press reported today. The lawyer,
John W. Nields, urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
in
size='3'>to overturn the July 2004 verdict because Rigas and his son
Timothy believed they were properly following accounting rules when they
engaged in transactions that the government said were fraudulent. Rigas
and his son, the company's former chief financial officer, were
convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud. John Rigas was
sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Timothy Rigas was sentenced to 20
years. Both are free pending appeal.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/business/15adelphia.html?pagewanted=p…'>Read
more .
w:st='on'>
name='7'>North Carolina
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> Novelist Convicted of Murder Files
for Bankruptcy
Mike Peterson, the
size='3'>Durham
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.C.
murdering his wife, filed for bankruptcy this week in federal court,
according to today’s (
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Raleigh
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.C.
Observer. The move delays the hearing of a
wrongful-death lawsuit filed against Peterson by his stepdaughter,
Caitlin Atwater, that was was scheduled to go to court next
week.In his
petition, Peterson claims debts of nearly $520,000 -- $415,337 of which
was a loan from his brother. Peterson is serving a
life sentence in Nash Correctional Institute in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Nashville
size='3'>after being found guilty of first-degree murder in October
2003.
href='http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/450864.html'>Read more
.
name='8'>Northwest Pilots Oust Union Leader
Pilots at Northwest
Airlines Corp. have ousted union chief Mark McClain after he led them
through tough negotiations that resulted in steep pay cuts and major
concessions, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The union's Master
Executive Council elected McClain as chairman in 1999. That same council
voted 6-5 with one abstention to remove him on Tuesday, the union said.
That was the same day a bankruptcy judge in
w:st='on'>
York
new 5 1/2-year contract. 'It's been a long-time process of concessionary
bargaining, and a lot of people aren't happy with the results,' said
union spokesman Wade Blaufuss.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR20060…'>Read
more .
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR20060…'>