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October 21, 2005
Asbestos
name='1'>Fear
of Cancer Drives Federal Asbestos Suit
Four former
employees of
Illinois Central Railroad filed a Federal Employers’ Liability
Act suit
on Oct. 17, alleging fear of future cancer and/or asbestosis, the
St. Clair
Record reported today. The plaintiffs claim that they were unaware
of the
dangers of asbestos that they were required to work with—and
were also
unaware of their latent abnormal medical conditions. The plaintiffs
claim that
they have suffered damages by way of lost their hearning capacity,
fear of future
cancer and/or progressive asbestosis, and diminished ability to render
services,
society, affection, counseling and support to their households and
families.
They are seeking monetary damages, costs and all other relief
permitted by law.
Read
more.
id='2'>WVU
Creates Asbestos Testing Program as Part of Settlement
West Virginia
University
agreed to test about 5,600 current and former employees for
asbestos-related
diseases under a tentative settlement of a five-year-old class action
asbestos
lawsuit against the school, the Associated Press reported yesterday.
During
the hearing yesterday, the lawyers told the judge that they still had
not completed
the written settlement document. The judge scheduled another hearing
for Nov.
1. WVU workers alleged that asbestos in campus buildings put them at
an increased
risk of getting cancer. In their lawsuit, the workers demanded a
medical monitoring
program to help them seek early treatment of any asbestos-related
illnesses.
They cited a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that allowed workers and
consumers
to recover costs of such testing for exposure to toxic substances.
href='http://www.woay.com/news.cfm?showarticle=E6594767-C834-49FA-BC1EE4457EDE6ADF'>Read
the full story.
id='3'>Wholesale
Prices Rise by Greatest Amount in Past 15 Years in Sept.
Inflation at the
wholesale
level last month soared by the largest amount in more than 15 years,
reflecting
the surge in energy prices that occurred following the Gulf Coast
hurricanes,
according to wire reports this week. The Labor Department reported
that wholesale
prices jumped 1.9 percent in September, led by surging prices for
gasoline,
natural gas and home heating oil after the widespread shutdowns of
refineries
and oil platforms along the Gulf Coast. Food prices, which had been
declining,
posted the biggest increase in 11 months as the price of eggs shot up
by a record
amount. Excluding the volatile energy and food sectors, the so-called
core rate
of inflation also posted an increase of 0.3 percent after showing no
increase
at all in August. Federal Reserve officials in recent weeks have
expressed such
concerns. In a speech in Tokyo on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan
said that the jump in energy prices will undoubtedly be a drag on the
economy
from now on.
id='4'>Delphi
Chairman Meets with Lawmakers
Delphi Corp. Chairman
and
CEO Robert S. Miller met yesterday with lawmakers concerned about
possible plant
closings, assuring them that the auto supplier has not made any
decisions on
the future of individual factories, the Associated Press reported
yesterday.
Miller met with House members representing states with plant
locations. "They
know that change is coming. They want to do what they can to soften
the impact
and most importantly, save as many jobs as we can," Miller said.
href='http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw122902_20051020.htm%0D%0D'>Read
the full story.
id='5'>McLeod-U-S-A
Seeks Second Bankruptcy
McLeod-U-S-A is
seeking its
second bankruptcy in two years, the Associated Press reported
yesterday. The
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, telecommunications company presented a plan
seeking approval
from lenders for its second chapter 11 bankruptcy. If successful, the
move would
restructure about $777 million dollars in debt, plus interest. As with
the 2003
bankruptcy, company officials say they expect restructuring to result
in a stronger,
more stable company. McLeod-U-S-A provides phone and Internet services
primarily
to business customers in 25 Midwestern and Western states. It has
about 1,700
employees, many of them in its Cedar Rapids headquarters.
id='6'>Refco's
Bankruptcy Unfolding
The bankruptcy of Refco Inc. is being felt in Minnesota, where
Cargill Inc.
and money management firm Leuthold Weeden are among
href='http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5681209.html'>Refco's
50 largest unsecured creditors, the Minneapolis Star
Tribune reported
yesterday. Cargill sold its London-based commodity futures brokerage
business,
Cargill Investor Services, to Refco on Aug. 31. Refco paid $208
million in
cash upfront and promised a payment of at least $67 million and as
much as
$192 million, depending on the performance of the business over two
years.
Money manager Leuthold Weeden, like Cargill, is entangled in the
Cargill Investor
Services deal. Leuthold Funds Inc. and one of its limited
partnerships is
owed $107 million.
href='http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/20/news/midcaps/bc.financial.refco.investigation.reut/index.htm'>the
federal investigation of Refco is fast expanding beyond CEO Phillip
Bennett,
Reuters reported yesterday. Other individuals and
firms—including auditors,
underwriters, lawyers and former Bennett subordinates—are
under scrutiny.
In addition, investigators were said to be looking for possible
wrongdoing
beyond fraud charges brought on Oct. 12 by the U.S. Attorney for the
Southern
District of New York.
Meanwhile, the $430 million in bad debts at the heart of Refco's
dissolution
stemmed from losses by as many as 10 customers, the Wall Street
Journal
reported today, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The
futures
brokerage's financial problems may also extend beyond the $430
million, the
newspaper said. One source told the paper it appeared Refco
executives also
had manipulated other financial metrics.
id='7'>United
Resolves Objections
United Airlines told
a judge
today that it has resolved the biggest objections to its bankruptcy
disclosure
statement, which is a key part of its reorganization, the Associated
Press reported
yesterday. That clears the way for Bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff
to
approve the plan as soon as tomorrow at the carrier's monthly
bankruptcy hearing.
Among others objecting to the plan, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
complained
last week that it unfairly restricted its ability to sell stock
pledged by United
as part of a settlement on pensions. United spokeswoman Jean Medina
says that
language in the plan was changed to accommodate those concerns and
that the
settlements reached this week will not add to the cost of United's
bankruptcy
reorganization.
href='http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/21/markets/refco_customers.reut/index.htm'>Read
more.
id='8'>MPLC
Administrator Announces Cash Distribution
The bankruptcy
administrator
for MPLC Inc. today informed the company that he will make a one-time
cash distribution
of approximately $0.45 per share of common stock eligible for such
distribution
to shareholders of record as of Oct. 31, subject to bankruptcy court
approval
of the satisfaction of negotiated creditor's claims, PRNewswire
reported today.
Such distribution will not be paid on shares purchased by the
company's controlling
shareholder pursuant to the stock purchase agreement dated Jan. 24,
including
any of such shares that have been transferred by the controlling
shareholder.
This distribution of funds is the final step in the bankruptcy
process, which
began last year when the company sought bankruptcy protection. MPLC
has paid
or provided for all post-petition administrative claims and all
pre-petition
secured and unsecured claims, and this distribution will represent
funds remaining
after satisfaction of such expenses and claims. The bankruptcy
administrator
has informed MPLC that he expects the distribution to take place on or
prior
to Dec. 20. Once this distribution is made, the company's shareholders
will
have no further claims to any bankruptcy proceeds.
id='9'>Jacobson
Enterprises Petition Filed
Jacobson Resonance
Enterprises
filed for chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Middle
District of Florida, Tampa Division, BankruptcyData.com reported
today. According
to Jacobson, the company is an emerging worldwide leader in magnetic
resonance
technology, whose main focus is the eradication of human suffering.
The company's
technology base has the potential for multiple industry applications
including
the fields of health care and veterinary medicine, the leisure, spa,
beauty
and sports arenas, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, energy and the
environment.
id='10'>Heilig
Settlement Approval Sought
Heilig-Meyers Co.
filed a
motion seeking U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval of a proposed settlement
and compromise
of claims of and pending litigation with pre-petition lenders pursuant
to Rule
9019 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, BankruptcyData.com
reported
today.
id='11'>Adelphia
Disclosure Statement Hearing Adjourned
Documents were filed
in the
U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Adelphia Case, adjourning the hearing
to consider
the approval of the company's disclosure statement, setting a voting
record
date, and establishing voting procedures to Oct. 27,
BankruptcyData.com reported
today.
id='12'>Bankruptcy
Filed in Fraudulent Contest
The man who held an
essay
contest to give away an ocean-view home, then sold it later, filed for
bankruptcy,
the Associated Press reported yesterday. Federal court documents show
Ben Waldrep,
77, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy on Oct. 7. The most valuable asset
is a bank
account containing $897,146—money frozen in place by a judge
when Waldrep
tried to withdraw it after a civil jury decided he committed fraud.
The bankruptcy
documents show Waldrep owes more than $150,000 on 16 credit cards.
href='http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/12953437.htm'>Read
more.
id='13'>Oregon
Co. Billionaire Settles Companies' Debts
More than a year
after his
bills were due, Portland, Ore., billionaire Paul Allen finally settled
his tab,
the Associated Press reported yesterday. Among debts, there was $20
owed for
cakes from a catering firm, $200 to a direct-mail advertising firm and
$5,000
for fire sprinklers. The companies were among the several dozen
vendors that
were largely stiffed when Allen's Oregon Arena Corp., which formerly
ran the
Rose Garden, filed for chapter 11 in 2004.
href='http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002574266_allenpays21e.html'>Read
the full story.
id='14'>Bankruptcy
Lawyers Flying High
When Northwest
Airlines sought
bankruptcy-court protection last month, it didn't scrimp on
professional help,
hiring no fewer than eight law firms and two restructuring consultants
to help
it navigate chapter 11, according to a Wall Street Journal
report today.
Delta Air Lines, which filed for bankruptcy protection the same day,
retained
seven law firms and four financial advisory firms. In the past five
years, 22
airlines have sought bankruptcy court protection, says the U.S.
Government Accountability
Office, not counting last week's filing by Mesaba Aviation, a regional
Northwest
Airlines partner. Most were small carriers, but the latest crop, which
also
includes UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc., are
among the
largest U.S. corporate bankruptcies ever. The fees aren't economy
class. In
its nearly three-year-old bankruptcy case, UAL spent $10 million a
month on
legal, accounting, consulting and other professional fees for itself,
its creditors
committee and sometimes even its labor unions—roughly $350
million so
far.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB112986012946775303.html?mod=us_business_biz_focus_hs'>Read
the full analysis.
id='15'>Capital
One Says Hurricanes, Bankruptcies to Hit Profit
Capital One Financial
Corp.
after the closing bell yesterday said that its quarterly net income
was essentially
unchanged from the year-ago period, and warned that hurricanes and
bankruptcy
filings may hit 2005 earnings, Dow Jones reported yesterday. Capital
One said
that third-quarter profit was $491.1 million, or $1.81 a share,
compared with
$490.2 million, or $1.97 a share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson
First
Call had expected per-share earnings of $1.66.
href='http://news.morningstar.com/news/DJ/M10/D20/200510201706DOWJONESDJONLINE001326.html%09'>Read
the full story.