href='mailto:Headlines@abiworld.org?subject=Subscribe me to the ABI
Headlines Direct'>
src='/AM/Images/headlines/headline.gif' />
June 5, 2008
House
Committee Focuses on Legislation to Protect Employees and Retirees in
Business Bankruptcies
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
will hold a hearing on today on H.R. 3652, the “Protecting
Employees and Retirees in Business
Bankruptcies Act of 2007.” ABI members Michael L. Bernstein of
Arnold & Porter and Babette Ceccotti of Cohen, Weiss and Simon, LLP
(on behalf of the AFL-CIO) are
scheduled to testify along with Marcus C. Migliore of the Air Line
Pilots Association and Karen Friedman of the Pension Rights Center. The
hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in
room 2237 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
href='http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings.aspx?ID=206'>Click here
for additional details.
May
Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase Nearly 31 Percent over Previous
Year
U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased 30.9 percent nationwide in
May from the same period a year ago, according to the ABI, relying on
data from the National Bankruptcy
Research Center. The overall May consumer filing total of 91, 214 was
down slightly by 1.2 percent from the 92,291 filings recorded in April.
Chapter 13 filings constituted
31.9 percent of all consumer cases in May, a slight increase from
April.
href='http://www.abiworld.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Monthly_Bankruptcy_Statistics&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=3716&ContentID=46994&DirectListComboInd=
D'>Click here to view the May consumer filing charts.
ResCap
Mortgage Secures $60 Billion Refinancing Package
GMAC said yesterday that it had completed a refinancing package worth
more than $60 billion aimed at improving the liquidity of its struggling
subsidiary, mortgage lender
Residential Capital, the Associated Press reported. Before yesterday's
announcement, ResCap increased the size of an existing credit
arrangement with GMAC and said that it was
selling some of its assets to GMAC and its majority stakeholder,
Cerberus. General Motors, GMAC's former parent, still has a large
minority stake. As part of the overall plan,
ResCap offered to exchange as much as $14 billion in debt to extend the
dates on which the notes came due. Bondholders participating in the
exchange offer will get new debt at
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05gmac.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
name='4'>Philadelphia Looks to Stem Increasing
Foreclosures
Philadelphia announced a program yesterday to reduce the number of
people who are forced from their homes because they cannot afford the
payments on an adjustable-rate subprime
mortgage, the New York Times reported today. The program will
require any property scheduled for sale by the local sheriff's office to
be referred to officials who
will negotiate with lenders in an effort to restructure the loan so that
the borrower can keep the property. About 1,200 foreclosure sales in the
city that were scheduled for
April and May have been delayed until July to give borrowers more time
to negotiate.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/us/05philadelphia.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
Moody's
May Downgrade Ratings of MBIA and Ambac Units
Moody's Investors Service said yesterday that it was likely to cut the
top ratings of the bond insurance arms of MBIA and Ambac Financial in a
move that may cripple their
ability to write new insurance, the Associated Press reported. The
companies, which are No. 1 and No. 2 in the business, have been
struggling to raise capital to shore up their
AAA ratings, which are under pressure on concern about losses from
mortgage-backed debt. Moody's said it was likely to cut the ratings on
MBIA Insurance and Ambac Assurance to
AA. The downgrade would effectively end both insurer's business,
analysts said, because the quality of their guarantee was contingent on
holding the top ratings.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05bond.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
Dive Company Files for Chapter 11
Ecotourism company Deep Ocean Expeditions LLC, which offers submersible
diving trips, has filed for chapter 11 protection, Bankruptcy
Law360 reported yesterday. The
Seattle-based company filed its chapter 11 petition on May 28, listing
assets of between $10 million and $50 million and liabilities of between
$1 million and $10 million. The
company's largest creditors include law firm Schwabe, Williamson &
Wyatt, vessel management and crew company Maritime Management Services
Inc. and SeaBright Insurance Co. A
meeting of DOE's creditors has been scheduled for July 8.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/secure/ViewArticle.aspx?Id=58344'>Read
more. (Registration
required.)
Asarco
Seeks Extension to File Bankruptcy Exit Plan
Asarco LLC, which plans to sell its assets to Indian mining company
Vedanta Resources PLC, is seeking to keep exclusive control of its
bankruptcy reorganization while it works
to close the sale, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Asarco has
asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas, to extend to
Aug. 1 the copper-mining company's
deadline for filing its plan to exit bankruptcy, which would be based on
a sale to Vedanta. Asarco said in court papers on Tuesday that the
Vedanta subsidiary that has agreed
to acquire Asarco for $2.6 billion can terminate the agreement if Asarco
doesn't file its plan by Aug. 1.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080604/asarco_bankruptcy.html?.v=1'>Read
more.
Calpine
Unit Files Complaint Against Bankruptcy Claim
A Calpine Corp. subsidiary has asserted that a Reliant Energy Inc. unit
miscalculated the balance resulting from an energy contract, leading the
Reliant company to lodge a
faulty $2 million unsecured claim against Calpine when in fact it owes
the formerly bankrupt power company $10.6 million, Bankruptcy
Law360 reported yesterday. Calpine
Energy Services LP (CES) accused Reliant Energy Electric Solutions LLC
(REES) of breaching the parties' contract, objected to its nonpriority
unsecured claim and sought
recovery of the millions it says it is owed. The disputed contract, a
master power purchase and sales agreement entered into in November 2000,
contemplated CES selling REES
certain energy products based on a fixed price scale and for a fixed
period of time. It provided for early termination in the event that
either party entered
bankruptcy.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/printview.aspx?id=58259'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='9'>Continental Airlines Cuts Jobs, Fleet
Continental Airlines became the latest carrier to announce job and
capacity cuts in light of surging oil prices, saying it plans to cut
3,000 jobs and reduce fourth-quarter
domestic departures by 16 percent, the Wall Street Journal
reported today. The departure cuts at Continental's mainline operations,
which will start in September, will
result in capacity falling 11 percent in the fourth quarter. Continental
is also accelerating the retirement of Boeing 737-300s and 500s. Six
planes were taken out of service
in the first half of this year, with another 67 aircraft being removed
-- 37 this year and 30 in 2009. Most of the remaining cuts for 2008 will
happen in September, and by the
end of next year Continental will have stopped flying 737-300s, a less
fuel-efficient plane.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121266426291048185.html'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
International
Personal Insolvency Filings
Increase in Canada
Personal bankruptcies across Canada in April rose to their highest
monthly level in four years, new statistics show, as a battered
manufacturing sector took its toll on Ontario
and Quebec, the Canadian Press reported yesterday. Across the country,
8,035 individuals declared bankruptcy in April along with 592
businesses, bringing the total for the past
12 months to 87,929, says a study released yesterday by the Office of
the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Ontario's personal bankruptcies rose
to 3,292, up 24 percent from April
a year ago, and Quebec's went up 21 percent to 2,548. Business
bankruptcies were up 4.8 percent from a month earlier and 9.2 percent
from April 2007.
href='http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/437262'>Read more.
/>