April 222004

Submitted by webadmin on Thu, 2004-04-22 00:00

April 22,
2004

Talks To Continue As Cloture

Vote On Asbestos Bill Looms

As the Senate prepares for a cloture vote on asbestos legislation today,

Senate GOP and Democratic leadership agreed yesterday to further
negotiate their differences on the bill,
CongressDaily reported. In a letter to Sen. Bill Frist
(R-Tenn.), Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) wrote that
consensus could be reached through an 'inclusive approach' that would
consist of 'our members and the various stakeholders in the debate
engaged in an open discussion of our goals and options for meeting
them.” Under the agreement, which Daschle proposed to Frist on
Wednesday, the negotiations will be moderated by Chief Judge Emeritus
Edward Becker, a retired federal judge from Pennsylvania who has been
leading previous negotiating sessions convened by Sen. Arlen Specter
(R-Pa.).

Despite the agreement to engage in more talks, a vote to end debate on
the asbestos bill is expected to fail today, as Republicans are unlikely

to get the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. Frist called the cloture
vote 'the beginning of a process,' and added that the vote could happen
as early as this morning, the newswire reported.

Coalition for Responsible Credit Practices Releases White Paper
Outlining Reform Agenda for the Credit Counseling Industry

The Coalition for Responsible Credit Practices, a nationwide group of
consumer credit counseling agencies, released a policy white paper that
examines some of the key issues facing the credit counseling industry
and presents policies for reforming and improving industry practices,
the coalition announced in a press release. Read the full text of
the

href='http://www.responsiblecreditpractices.com/resources/buildingfaith.php'>white

paper.

Adelphia May Opt to Sell Company

Cable TV operator Adelphia
Communications Corp. today said it may sell the company as an
alternative to reorganizing in bankruptcy, citing pressure from key
creditors and shareholders, Reuters reported. Adelphia's management
wants to keep the company intact, with a bankruptcy exit plan of
swapping much of its billions of dollars in debt for cash and equity to
be distributed to bank and bond creditors. But bondholders, senior
lenders and shareholders have all filed objections with the bankruptcy
court, saying that a sale of the company would generate more money for
them, the newswire reported.

US Airways Maps a New East
Coast Strategy

US Airways plans to take on
Southwest Airlines in Philadelphia next month with lower fares and add
more direct flights between other key East Coast cities as part of a
strategy to protect its territory and stave off competition from
low-fare carriers, the Washington Post reported. The carrier is
finalizing plans to reduce walk-up fares by as much as 40 percent and
eliminate Saturday-night-stay requirements for its Philadelphia flights.

It also plans to replace some turboprops with jets and add more direct
flights out of Washington's Reagan National, Boston and New York, the
newspaper reported.

size='3'>MCI

size='3'>Law Firms Rack Up Big Figures in WorldCom/MCI
Bankruptcy

size='3'>

MCIspent about

$800 million for consultants to help it re-emerge from bankruptcy,
according to a spokeswoman, the New York Law Journal reported.
Accounting firms KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers charged tens of
millions in fees and expenses, and more than a dozen law firms charged
millions more. As MCI's lead attorney in the bankruptcy proceeding,
Weil, Gotshal & Manges alone billed more than $35 million in fees
and expenses from July 2002 through January of this year.
Read the

href='http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1082571451432'>article.

MCI And Telmex Raise Embratel Deal Price

MCI said on Wednesday that
Telefonos de Mexico agreed to raise its purchase price for MCI's stake
in Brazilian operator Embratel Participacoes SA to $400 million from
$360 million, Reuters reported. Under their new agreement, MCI also set
a $12.2 million deal break-up fee and said it would keep a $50 million
up-front payment from Telmex if the sale is not approved by regulators.
The company, which still needs approval from a bankruptcy court judge
for the sale of its 52-percent stake in Embratel, said that if the court

does not OK the termination fee, Telmex could reduce its purchase price
to $360 million, the newswire reported.

New Chief Tapped For
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Bradley Belt, the outgoing president of the Washington Capital Group
financial services consulting firm, has been appointed executive
director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the Associated
Press reported. Belt replaces Steven Kandarian as chief of the
government's pension insurance program. Belt previously served as
counsel to the Senate Banking Committee and was general counsel and
legislative director to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Approves Footaction Sale

Athletic apparel retailer Foot
Locker Inc. said on Wednesday the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the
company's $225 million purchase of 350 Footaction stores from bankrupt
shoe retailer Footstar Inc., Reuters reported. Foot Locker said it plans

initially to use cash to fund the deal, which will add to diluted
earnings per share within the first full year of operation.

face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Last month, Footstar said it would sell
its athletic shoe stores after it was unable to reach supply terms with
Nike Inc., the newswire reported

Shareholders Grill PG&E Executives On Pay Packages

Shareholders demanded to know
why PG&E Corp. executives earned millions when the company's main
subsidiary was in bankruptcy and dividends had been suspended, Reuters
reported. At the first annual shareholder meeting since the company's
utility unit, Pacific Gas & Electric, emerged from three years in
bankruptcy, shareholders repeatedly complained about CEO Bob Glynn's
2003 package of more than $17 million, the newswire reported.

American Air's AMR Cuts
Quarterly Loss By 84 Percent

American Airlines parent AMR
Corp. said on Wednesday a restructuring plan helped the world's largest
airline slash its first-quarter loss by about 84 percent from a year
ago, when it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, Reuters reported.
Investors were encouraged by the improved trend during the quarter,
reflected by a $30 million net profit during the month of March, which
sent AMR shares up more than 9 percent on Wednesday, the newswire
reported.

Exide Bankruptcy Plan
Approved

Battery maker Exide
Technologies on Wednesday said a Delaware bankruptcy court has approved
its reorganization plan, and the company plans to exit chapter 11 within

the next several weeks, Reuters reported. The Lawrenceville, N.J.-based
company said the plan will cut debt by $1.3 billion and result in the
issuance of 22.5 million new common shares to its pre-petition secured
lenders. Exide said its existing common stock, 2.9 percent convertible
notes and 10 percent senior notes will be canceled, the newswire
reported.

Creditors Split Over
WestPoint Stevens Chapter 11 Deadline

A holder of about $190 million
in WestPoint Stevens Inc.'s secured debt said the court handling the
company's bankruptcy case should allow creditors to file their own
turnaround plans for the textile company. But a group of lenders who
financed the company before its chapter 11 filing and the company's
official committee of unsecured creditors supported WestPoint's push for

more time to put together its turnaround plan. The lenders hold claims
worth about $531 million. WestPoint said on March 26 that it sought an
extension to file its plan at least through July 29. A hearing on the
request is scheduled for Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Manhattan, which is handling the company's case.

Provided by Daily Bankruptcy
Review (

NorthWestern Creditor
Sues To Recover Clark Fork Unit Assets

Magten Asset Management Corp.
filed a lawsuit seeking to force energy company NorthWestern Corp. to
return assets it acquired from its Clark Fork & Blackfoot LLC unit
in 2002. The transfer of most of Clark Fork's assets to NorthWestern was

fraudulent and caused the unit, formerly known as Montana Power Co. LLC,

to become insolvent, Magten said in a court filing Friday with the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., which is overseeing NorthWestern's

bankruptcy case. The plaintiff -- individually as a creditor of Clark
Fork and, with Law Debenture Trust Co. of New York, as trustee for notes

linked to Montana Power -- said the transfer was made with an intent to
hurt or defraud creditors.

Provided by Daily Bankruptcy
Review (

size='3'>ENRON

size='3'>Dilemma for All: Judge's Losses On Enron
Stock

A federal judge in Houston hearing the
government's case against Lea Fastow, the wife of Enron Corp.'s former
finance chief, disclosed in a hearing last year that he had owned Enron
shares that had plunged in value and Fastow's lawyers didn't seek the
judge's recusal, the Wall Street
Journal reported. Now that decision has come back to haunt Fastow's
legal team. Read the article at
href='http://www.wsj.com/'>
size='3'>www.wsj.com (subscription
required).

Skilling Broke Bond
Terms, Prosecutors Say

Prosecutors yesterday told a
federal judge that indicted former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey K. Skilling
broke several terms of his release on $5 million bond by 'drinking
inordinately,' allegedly attempting to remove a car license plate, and
getting into a physical altercation with patrons at a Manhattan bar on
April 9, the Washington Post reported. The prosecutors' motion
sought only for the court to hold a hearing on the issue, not for
specific changes to the terms of Skilling's bail. But according to the
order under which Skilling was released, it is possible that U.S.
District Judge Sim Lake could choose to revoke bail, order Skilling
detained or seek to charge him with contempt of court.

April 222004

Exide Bankruptcy Plan Approved

Exide Bankruptcy Plan
Approved