July 27, 2004
U.S. Pension Agency Warns
United on Payment Deferral
The U.S. agency that insures
pensions warned United Airlines on Monday that its plan to stop pension
payments while it tries to escape bankruptcy was inconsistent with
federal law, Reuters reported. 'UAL's announcement last Friday that it
would no longer make legally required contributions to its employee
pension plans while in bankruptcy is of great concern,' said a letter
from the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to United
Airlines. The agency
demanded information on how United would close the funding gap in its
pension plans, the newswire reported.
Hearing on Fleming Cos.
Bankruptcy Protection Exit Plan Set
A federal bankruptcy judge in
Delaware was scheduled to hear arguments on Monday in a confirmation
proceeding on Fleming Cos. Inc.'s plan to exit chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection, the Knight-Ridder reported. Fleming plans to reorganize
around its San Francisco-based Core-Mark division, which it bought in
2002. The division distributes products to convenience stores. The new
company will be called Core-Mark Newco. If the plan is confirmed, the
company will have projected assets of $468 million and $320 million in
liabilities, Fleming's Chief Restructuring Officer, Ted Stenger, said in
court filings.
Unsecured creditors will
receive shares in the new company worth $148 million. Former
shareholders will get nothing. A majority of Fleming's creditors has
voted in favor of the former Oklahoma City-based company's plan,
although 37 creditors objected to some of the provisions. Fleming
bankruptcy attorney James Sprayregen said in court filings that
27 of the objections had been resolved by July 16. Attorneys are working
to resolve the remaining objections, he said, the newswire
reported.
Eight Warning Signs
That You May Be Headed for Bankruptcy
Bankruptcies are at an alarming
level in the United States. Bankruptcy doesn't happen just to financial
deadbeats, About.com reported. It could happen to your family member,
your neighbor, your friend. It could even happen to you. Here are eight
warning signs that you're headed for possible bankruptcy, and eight tips
for changing course before it's too late. Read the full article at
href='http://financialplan.about.com/od/creditanddebt/a/Bankruptcy.htm'>http://financialplan.about.com/od/creditanddebt/a/Bankruptcy.htm.
ENRON
Moving on After Enron
Means Being Humble and Minimizing Role
These days, former Enron
employees are desperate for cover, the Wall Street Journal
reported. 'Saying that you worked at Enron does not help things,' says
Earl Harvey, an alum who spent nearly a year out of work after Enron's
December 2001 bankruptcy filing. Rank-and-file Enron veterans are slowly
restarting their careers, and their experiences say a lot about the
business culture's two-sided attitude toward failure and scandal. Second
chances do exist for people caught up in corporate disasters that aren't
of their own making. Read the full article at
href='http://www.wsj.com/'>
size='3'>www.wsj.com
size='3'>(subscription required).
Files Show Portland Made Close Bid For Enron
Subsidiary
Confidential files obtained by
a newspaper show the city came 'within spitting distance' of buying
Enron Corp. subsidiary Portland General Electric, according to an
Associated Press article. The Oregonian reported in its Friday editions
the documents show the city offered $2.33 billion for PGE before talks
cooled and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved the sale of
the utility for $2.35 billion to a new company backed by Texas Pacific
Group, an investment firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. The newspaper said
it was clear from the documents that Enron thought the city's offer
lacked financial detail and failed to adequately insulate Enron from
potential legal claims.
Provided by Daily Bankruptcy
Review (
href='http://www.djnewsletters.com/trial-form.html?promo=TDBRABI2'>http://www.djnewsletters.com/trial-form.html?promo=TDBRABI2)Copyright
(c) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Consortium Seeks To Buy
Major Parts Of Oglebay Norton
Four businesses are jointly
bidding for almost all the assets of Oglebay Norton Co. for $451
million, according to an Associated Press article. The Cleveland
minerals and shipping company had gotten a separate offer from a group
of Oglebay workers who want to buy the company's 12 carriers, docks and
warehouses in an employee stock ownership plan. The fleet, the largest
on the Great Lakes, transports limestone, coal and iron ore. The company
was once known for its shipping business, but that's now a smaller part
of the operation. Production of minerals is largest segment of its
business.
Provided by Daily Bankruptcy
Review (
href='http://www.djnewsletters.com/trial-form.html?promo=TDBRABI2'>http://www.djnewsletters.com/trial-form.html?promo=TDBRABI2)Copyright
(c) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Adelphia Communications
Reports $25 Million Loss For June
Adelphia Communications Corp.
said today that it posted a net loss of about $25 million, or 10 cents a
share, in June, according to a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the online Wall Street
Journal reported. In May, the company posted a net loss of
$69.2 million, or 27 cents a share. Adelphia Communications is now
operating under chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company reported
revenue of $326.9 million in June, compared with $328.8 million in
May.
Atlas Air to Emerge from
Chapter 11 Today When Plan Is Effective
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
Inc. said Monday in a regulatory filing that its chapter 11 plan of
reorganization will become effective today, allowing the company to
emerge from bankruptcy the same day, the online Wall Street
Journal reported. Atlas Air, which has been under bankruptcy
protection since Jan. 30 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of Florida, received confirmation of its plan of reorganization
on July 14, according to a Form 8-K submitted to the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Unions to Meet Aer
Lingus Bosses on Job Cuts
Unions at Irish state airline
Aer Lingus are to meet management today to voice their opposition to a
three-year cost-cutting plan that could result in the loss of 1,300
jobs, Reuters reported. Details of the plan, which were approved by the
board on Monday, have not been released by the airline, but Irish
newspaper reports said it entailed cutting staff by a quarter to 2,700
in a bid to help it compete with budget carriers. The plan has been
proposed by CEO Willie Walsh who has asked the Irish government for
permission to seek financial backing for a management buyout of the
airline, the newswire reported. If permission were granted, Aer Lingus
would be on the market, with a bidding process open to other
buyers.
Financial Fix Will
Require More Reforms
Though China started to fix its
investment and financing system in 1994, piecemeal reforms have failed
to yield substantial progress, according to an article in Outlook
Weekly, Asia Intelligence reported. Currently, as a result of
institutional loopholes concerning investment and financing, banks' bad
loans as well as bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises, have not been
effectively stopped. Meanwhile, inadequate financing channels have
become the bottleneck for the development of small and medium-sized
enterprises, non-state economies and high-tech firms. A comprehensive
reform of the country's investment and financing system is urgently
needed, noted the article.
Call For Shake-up of
Law on Debt in Britain
The law needs to be reformed to make it easier for people to deal
with unmanageable debts, an insolvency expert has said, Europe
Intelligence Wire reported. Patrick Boyden, a partner at
PricewaterhouseCoopers, is calling on the British Government to
introduce a new scheme to help people recover from debt while still
protecting creditors. His proposed Consumer Arrangement would apply to
people who had unsecured debts and who would be able to repay creditors
over a five-year period. The Consumer Arrangement would aim to simplify
the process of negotiating with creditors, making it quicker and easier
to put an agreement in place.