Lott
Makes Another Effort to Move Bankruptcy Bill
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) announced
Tuesday
that he would again try to send the Bankruptcy Reform Bill
(H.R. 833)
back to a formal conference with the House and has enlisted
the help
of Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to help separate the
Senate-attached
minimum wage increase and tax breaks to the bill, according
to
CQ
Daily Monitor.Despite Daschle’s pleadings, Senators Paul
Wellstone
(D-Minn.) and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) are planning to
object
to Lott’s latest plan. Another option would be for Lott to
attach
the bankruptcy bill to different legislation. Many Democrats
are waiting
for the White House to weigh in on the latest
machinations.“We are
gravely concerned” about many of the provisions, said White
House
Chief of Staff John D. Podesta, adding the administration is
drafting
a letter to lawmakers. A strongly worded letter could
strengthen opponents.
One Democratic aide suggested that Wellstone might drop his
procedural
roadblock if he is certain that a presidential veto will
stop the
bill.
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>House Calls For Oversight In
Certain Pawn
Transactions
The House adopted a resolution (H.Con.Res.
312) on
June 27, that calls for federal and state oversight of
transactions
conducted by title loan and title pawnshop operators.
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If necessary, the House will pass laws to crack
down on them,
according to the CQ Daily Monitor.
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Included in the resolution could be a complete ban
on title
pawn transactions or the charging of particularly high
interest
rates in title loans transactions.
style='mso-spacerun: yes'> Interest rates of up to 300 percent a
year
are not uncommon and critics contend such loans are often
targeted
at poor and uneducated consumers.
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Many
states have
been taking the lead in cracking down on title loans
operators and
specialty pawnbrokers, who, as a condition of making a
cash loan
to a consumer, use the consumer’s car as collateral for
the loan
by physically taking possession of its title.
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style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>Bankruptcy Judge Set to be
Confirmed to District
Court
Senate party leaders reached a deal yesterday
to clear
the way for four more of President Clinton’s judicial
nominees,
according to the CQ Daily Monitor.
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One of the nominees Senators will vote on this week
includes
Joan Humphrey Lefkow, U.S. District Judge for the Northern
District
of Illinois.
Currently she
is a bankruptcy judge in Chicago.
style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>Loehmann's,
Inc. Agrees on Revised Chapter 11 Plan
style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>Loehmann's,
Inc. announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement
in principle
on a revised chapter 11 plan with a group of significant
senior
note holders and its proposed exit-financing lender,
according to
a newswire report.
The Bronx,
N.Y.-based company is currently in discussion with its
Official
Creditors Committee regarding the revised plan and hopes
to obtain
the Committee's support for it shortly.
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Loehmann's intends to file a revised plan soon that
implements
the terms of this agreement and will be seeking to have
the bankruptcy
court confirm this revised plan in September.
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Levitz Pact with Seaman Blocked
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>Levitz Furniture Corp. says minority
shareholders
of Seaman Furniture Co. Inc. have shut down a management
and shared
services pact between the two companies, according to a
Reuters
report. Levitz
said the
minority shareholders have granted an injunction
prohibiting Seaman
from initiating the plan, forcing Levitz to explore other
options
to emerge from bankruptcy.
style='mso-spacerun: yes'> The Boca Raton, Fla.-based Levitz
said one
alternative is considering to remain a stand-alone company
and that
its largest creditor, Resurgence Asset Management LLC
would support
that plan. Seaman entered into the agreement with the
expectation
of eventually creating a holding company as part of
Levitz's reorganization.
style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>AutoInfo,
Inc. Announces Preliminary Approval
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>AutoInfo, Inc. announced yesterday
that it has
received the preliminary approval of its disclosures
statement by
the bankruptcy court, according to a newswire report.
style='mso-spacerun:
yes'> The company anticipates that a hearing to consider the
confirmation
of its plan of reorganization will be scheduled during the
first
two weeks of August.
The
Stamford, Conn. company intends to make the necessary
modifications
and seek the appropriate authorizations to solicit votes
concerning
its plan within the next two weeks.
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A week ago the company announced that it had
entered into
an agreement to acquire Sunteck Transport Co., a logistics
provider.
William Wunderlich, President and chief financial
officer
of AutoInfo stated, "now that we have received
bankruptcy court
approval of our disclosure statement which includes the
Sunteck
transaction, we can move expeditiously to the confirmation
of our
reorganization plan." Wunderlich
added, "we will finalize our business plan and begin
to seek
out potential investors enabling us to consummate the
merger."
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style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>Ford
Named Sole Bidder for Daewoo
Today Ford Motor Co was named the sole bidder in
negotiations
to buy Daewoo Motor, according to a Reuters report.
style='mso-spacerun: yes'> Oh Hogen, chairman of a committee
representing
Daewoo Motor's creditors, said Ford has six weeks to
conduct a plan
and submit it for final approval.
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"The committee expects to sign a definitive
agreement
shortly afterwards," said Hogen in a news
conference. Ford offered better capabilities "to improve the
corporate
value of Daewoo, willingness to transfer technology,
provide job
security and contribute to the growth and development of
the components
industry."
style='mso-spacerun: yes'> This bid marks the first time that
one of Korea's
manufacturing companies is sold off to a foreign
company.
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