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December
21, 2007
Bush Signs Tax Bill to Aid
Struggling Homeowners
President Bush signed a
bill yesterday that gives a tax break to homeowners who have mortgage
debt forgiven as part of a foreclosure or renegotiation of a loan, the
Associated Press reported yesterday. Currently such debt forgiveness is
categorized as taxable income. No taxes would be owed under the new law
on the value of any debt forgiven or written off. 'When you're worried
about making your payments, higher taxes are the last thing you need to
worry about,' Bush said. While the measure
is anticipated to reduce taxes of some strapped homeowners by $650
million, the cost to the government would be offset in part by limiting
a tax break available on the sale of second homes.
href='http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22345416/'>Read
more.
American Home Gets Chapter
11 Extension
Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Chris
size='3'>topher Sontchi approved American Home
Mortgage Investment Corp.’s extension request until March 3 to
file a chapter 11 plan detailing how it plans to pay creditors, the
Associated Press reported yesterday. Melville, N.Y.-based American Home
filed for chapter 11 protection in August, after being overwhelmed with
margin calls triggered by the melting mortgage market. The company asked
Judge Sontchi to delay the chapter 11 plan filing deadline so that it
could finish its liquidation and start negotiations with creditors. Most
of American Home's servicing business, a portfolio of about $40 billion
worth of home loans, is being sold to W.L. Ross & Co. in a deal
worth from $450 million to $500 million.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071220/american_home_bankruptcy.html?.v=1'>Read
more.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Delphi
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> to Keep Control of Chapter 11
Case
Bankruptcy Judge
Robert Drain
size='3'>yesterday granted Delphi Corp. a three-month extension of its
right to control its bankruptcy case, giving the auto-parts supplier
more time to complete its reorganization plan, the Associated Press
reported yesterday. Judge Drain extended
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Delphi
approval of its chapter 11 plan to March 31 and also gave the company
until May 31 to win creditor support for its plan.
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Delphi
deadline to complete its plan and a Feb. 29 deadline to solicit creditor
support. The company has already proposed a reorganization plan and won
approval from the court to send the plan to creditors for a
vote.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071220/delphi_bankruptcy.html?.v=1'>Read
more.
With
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Detroit
on 2008, Suppliers Are Singing the Blues
Carmakers expect 2008 to be
challenging, at best, but hundreds of automotive parts suppliers are
anticipating the year ahead to be one of the ugliest ever, the New
York Times said today.
size='3'>Overall sales in the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>United States
size='3'>are projected to fall below 16 million vehicles next year, the
lowest level in a decade, as a housing slump, high oil prices and weak
consumer confidence deter car shoppers. Slow sales will mean less demand
for parts at a time when many suppliers are already suffering from years
of heavy losses or eroding profit margins. The outlook for suppliers,
the nation’s largest manufacturing sector, worsened recently
when
size='3'>Detroit
said that they did not plan to counter the softening market with bigger
discounts, even if the country slipped into a recession.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/business/21place.html'>Read
more.
Chrysler Faces Financial
Pinch
Chrysler
LLC has slipped into a serious financial crunch just four months after
Cerberus Capital Management LP swept in to save the auto maker, the
Wall Street Journal reported today. At a meeting earlier this
month, CEO Robert Nardelli told employees that the company is
headed for a substantial loss this year and is scrambling to sell assets
to raise cash. In an interview yesterday, Mr. Nardelli acknowledged
making the comment, saying it was intended to 'convey a sense of
urgency' among employees. Cerberus is often viewed as among the
shrewdest of the private-equity groups reshaping
size='3'>'s industrial landscape. But the Chrysler acquisition is
turning into a case study of how deals made during the recently ended
boom are going sour.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119820798310144385.html'>Read
more. (Subscription required).
Company
Buying Topps Meat Assets for $825G
MSDT Acquisition Corp.,
an affiliate of the Hawthorne-based company Premio Foods Inc., is in the
process of purchasing all the Topps Meat Co. equipment, trademarks and
beef, some of which may be contaminated, the
size='3'>North Jersey Herald reported
today. Elizabeth, N.J.-based meat company Topps went bankrupt in
September after a recall of 21.7 million pounds of beef patties that
possibly contained the E. coli virus. According to federal bankruptcy
court filings, MSDT will purchase the Topps equipment and trademark for
$635,000. The company will also buy 2.1 million pounds of meat -
possibly contaminated - for $190,000, according to published
reports.
href='http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMzYyNDcmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyMg=='>Read
more.
Malpractice Claims Against
W.Va. Doctor to Proceed Amid Bankruptcy
Eight lawsuits alleging
medical malpractice by a former
w:st='on'>West
Virginia
continue toward trial while he settles his debts in bankruptcy court, a
judge has ordered, the Associated Press reported today.
size='3'>Dr. John A. King consented to the rulings issued Wednesday by
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas B. Bennett, which lift the stays normally
applied to civil lawsuits targeting bankrupt defendants. The eight are
the first of 124 malpractice claims against King slated for trial. Each
alleges that the 49-year-old osteopath botched surgeries or otherwise
harmed patients during his six months at the former
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Putnam
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>General
size='3'>Hospital
living in
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Alabama
filed for bankruptcy under chapter 7 last month, listing more than
$125,000 in debts.
Panel: Judge's Acts May Be
Impeachable
There is evidence to support
impeachment of a federal judge for misconduct, including lying in
bankruptcy court and accepting gifts from lawyers with cases before him,
a federal judicial council said yesterday, the Associated Press
reported. The Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit said District
Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. ''has engaged in conduct which might
constitute one or more grounds for impeachment.'' Its report goes to the
Judicial Conference of the United States, headed by
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>U.S. Supreme Court
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Chief Justice John Roberts, which will
decide whether to recommend that the U.S. House consider impeaching
Porteous. The 5th Circuit Council's report, posted on the Web site of
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said investigators have
substantial evidence to back up allegations against Porteous, who filed
for bankruptcy in 2001.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Judge-Investigation.html?_r=1&oref=slogin'>Read
more.
size='3'>GEGQQ Expects to Emerge from Chapter 11 by
January
Global Power Equipment Group
(GEGQQ) announced in a press release today that the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court issued a decision confirming the company's reorganization plan.
Based on the court's ruling, Global Power expects to emerge from chapter
11 by the end of January 2008.
size='3'>International
Bankruptcy petitions
fall 14.3 Percent in Hong Kong
November saw 848
bankruptcy petitions and 695 orders, down 14.3 percent and 21.2 percent
on the same month last year, the Official Receiver's Office in
Kong
the Hong Kong Financial
Reviewer. Compared with October, the number of
bankruptcy petitions and orders fell 8.9 percent and 30.4 percent. The
month also saw 61 compulsory winding-up petitions, up 41.9
percent on a year earlier and 38.6 percent on October. However, the
number of winding-up orders dropped 49.3 percent from a year
earlier.
Seven Units in Axel
Springer's PIN Group File for Insolvency
Seven companies that are
part of Axel Springer AG's PIN Group have filed for insolvency
today in a
size='3'>Cologne
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Germany
size='3'>,
size='3'>court on the
grounds that they lack funds to pay social
color='#0000ff' size='3'>insurance
size='3'>contributions, ABC Money
w:st='on'>
size='3'>UK
size='3'>reported today. The mail services
face='Times New Roman' color='#0000ff' size='3'>company
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>said that around 850 out of
its roughly 9,000 employees are affected but added that group
operations continue. The company got in trouble after publishing group
Axel Springer, which owns a 63.7 percent stake in the company, decided
to halt the provision of funds after the German government decided to
introduce minimum wages to the postal industry. Andreas Ringstmeier is
the preliminary insolvency administrator. Spiegel Online reported
earlier today that five PIN group companies would file for
insolvency.