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January 11, 2007
w:st='on'>
name='1'>Malden
face='Times

















New








Roman'
size='3'> Mills Files for Bankruptcy
Malden Mills Industries
Inc., a century-old textile maker that emerged from bankruptcy in 2003
after a disastrous factory fire, said that it has filed for chapter 11
protection again, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The company
agreed to sell its assets for $44 million to Gordon Brothers Group,
pending bankruptcy court approval. The prospective buyer said it intends
to continue operating privately held Malden Mills, which makes Polartec
fleece and specialty fabrics for customers including Lands' End, The
North Face,
size='3'>Patagonia
The Lawrence, Mass.-based company has struggled to overcome financial
problems left over from its prior bankruptcy, while also competing
against foreign textile makers that have lower labor costs.
href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_on_bi_ge/malden_mills_bankruptcy_4'>Read
more .
w:st='on'>
name='2'>Arizona
face='Times






New



Roman'
size='3'> Bankruptcy Filings Fell 83.5 Percent in
2006
Bankruptcies in
size='3'>Arizona
as filings fell 83.5 percent in 2006 to 6,479, according to data from
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Arizona
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Republic
size='3'>reported today. That is down from the record of 39,204 filings
set in 2005. Chapter 7's constituted much of the drop, which were down
85.7 percent from 2005 to 2006. Chapter 13 decreased 67.6 percent as
chapter 11 filings were down just 12.2 percent. Bankruptcy Court Clerk
Terry Miller expects petitions to increase this year as foreclosures and
credit card debt increase. Most attorneys have said they expected the
number of cases to begin climbing at the end of 2006 and into
2007.
href='http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0110biz-bankruptcy0111.html#'>Read
more .
w:st='on'>
name='3'>Utah
size='3'> Bankruptcies Decline in 2006
Fewer Utahns filed for
bankruptcy in 2006 than in the previous year as David Sime, clerk of the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Utah, said there were 5,031 bankruptcy
petitions filed with the court last year, a 77 percent drop from the
21,784 cases filed in 2005, the
size='3'>Salt Lake Tribune reported today.
Sime attributes the decrease in 2006 filings to the surge of filings
prior to the implementation of the new bankruptcy law. 'There may be a
misperception out there that people can no longer file for bankruptcy,
which isn't the case at all,' Sime said. 'In fact, 85 percent to 90
percent of those who would have qualified to file for chapter 7 under
the old law still qualify to file under the new Act.'
href='http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4989878'>Read more
.
Airlines
name='4'>Northwest Emerges as a Potential Suitor for Delta
Air
Hours after US Airways
increased its unsolicited bid for Delta by more than 20 percent early
yesterday, to about $10.3 billion, Northwest Airlines has also emerged
as a potential suitor, the
size='3'>New York Times reported today. While
Delta has been working to fend off US Airways, it has been in talks with
bankrupt Northwest for weeks. A Northwest bid would probably be
preferable to Delta managers because the two airlines’ route
networks overlap less than with Delta and US Airways. A combination with
Northwest is therefore likely to lead to fewer grounded planes, if
any.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/business/11air.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin'>Read
more .
name='5'>Northwest Moves Closer to Purchasing
Mesaba
Northwest Airlines moved
closer to purchasing Mesaba Airlines Inc. after tentatively reaching a
deal with the embattled carrier’s parent company MAIR Holdings
Inc. regarding the proposed $145 million sale,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Bankruptcy Law360
size='3'>reported yesterday.
size='3'>Northwest and MAIR Holdings confirmed Tuesday that they had
arrived at an agreement in principle over the Mesaba deal, but refused
to provide further details. Northwest revealed last week that it had
brokered a deal with the bankrupt carrier under which it would pay
Mesaba's estate $145 million in addition to $10 million in operating
cash.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=16189'>Read
more . (Registration required.)
w:st='on'>
name='6'>Kara
w:st='on'>
size='3'> Homes
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> Seeks Approval of $5 Million
Loan
Kara Homes Inc., a New
Jersey-based home builder, is seeking bankruptcy court approval to
borrow $5 million from Connecticut-based hedge fund Plainfield Special
Situations Master Fund Ltd., Dow Jones Newswires reported
yesterday.
size='3'>Kara
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Homes
size='3'>already has permission from the bankruptcy court overseeing its
chapter 11 case to tap a $2.6 million debtor-in-possession loan
from
size='3'>New York
size='3'>investment bank Bear Stearns.However,
face='Times New


Roman'
size='3'>Kara
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Homes
size='3'>said in documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in
size='3'>Trenton,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.J.
that the Bear Stearns loan isn't enough to keep its operations going
during the case. A hearing on the company's request is scheduled for
next Tuesday.
href='http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--karahomes-bankrup0110jan10,0,6936582.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey'>Read
more .
name='7'>Foamex Senior Noteholders Accept Reorganization
Plan
The senior secured
noteholders of Foamex International Inc. have unanimously voted in favor
of the company’s second amended reorganization plan,
Bankruptcy Law360
reported yesterday. Foamex’s latest reorganization
plan will be up for confirmation at a Feb. 1 hearing in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Foamex’s
equityholders have until Jan. 18 to cast their votes on the plan. New
York City-based Bankruptcy Services LLC received 49 so-called Class 3
ballots from the senior noteholders, all in
favor of the plan. The senior noteholders that voted on the plan include
Goldman, Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Bear Stearns
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=16195'>Read
more . (Registration required.)
name='8'>Lenders Warn Student Loan Rate Cuts Will Force Fee
Hikes
Lenders circulated a
letter to House members Wednesday voicing their concern that Democrats
will have to offset the cost of their student loan plan, an estimated $6
billion over five years, by cutting the government subsidies that
traditionally keep the fees charged to students low and protect lenders
from losing money on defaulted loans,
size='3'>CongressDaily reported today. Fearing
a $6 billion hit, lenders warned that 'cuts of this magnitude cannot be
absorbed by the nation's loan providers without compromising the kinds
of benefits and services now provided to college students and their
families.' The letter was signed by the Consumer Bankers Association,
College Loan Corporation, Education Finance Council, National Council of
Higher Education Loan Programs, Nelnet, Sallie Mae and the Student Loan
Servicing Alliance.
name='9'>Commentary: UAW Faces Tough Challenges Going
Forward
The United Auto Workers
(UAW) union has been retreating in recent years, as it has been crippled
by economic forces beyond its control and by its past successes in
winning benefits that companies can no longer afford as they compete
with foreign manufacturers in America who do not have unionized workers
and the legacy costs of union retirees, according to a
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Washington Post
size='3'>commentary today. UAW head Ron Gettelfinger faced many
challenges in 2006, but this year he must negotiate new labor contracts
with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The UAW says its concessions
amount to $3 billion of Ford's $5 billion annual reductions in fixed
costs. There also have been roughly 34,000 buyouts at GM, where UAW
concessions ($3 billion in health care, $3 billion in workforce
attrition) account for two-thirds of the company's $9 billion annual
reduction of fixed costs.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011002051_pf.html'>Read
more .
name='10'>Principals at Florida-Based Hedge Fund Accused of
Misleading Investors
The three principals of
the KL Group in
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>West Palm Beach
size='3'>,
size='3'>Fla.
operated many hedge funds that collapsed in early 2005, were indicted
yesterday on accusations of orchestrating an extensive fraud that raised
more than $194 million from at least 250 investors, the
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>New York Times
size='3'>reported today. The three, Won Sok Lee, Yung Bae Kim and his
brother Jung Bae Kim, who was also known as John B. Kim, are accused of
promoting the KL hedge funds as successful, when, in fact, some of the
funds suffered losses every quarter of their existence. For instance,
from 2000 to 2005, KL told investors that its main hedge fund earned
more than 100 percent each year. In fact, from 2003 to 2004, the main
fund lost approximately $63 million in unprofitable trades, according to
the indictment, which was handed up by a federal grand jury in the
Southern District of Florida.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/business/11hedge.html?pagewanted=print'>Read
more .
name='11'>House Passes Increase in Minimum Wage to
$7.25
The House yesterday
overwhelmingly approved the first increase in the federal minimum wage
in nearly a decade, boosting the wages of the lowest-paid American
workers from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years, the
Washington Post
reported today. Senate Democratic leaders promise to
press for a vote on their own minimum-wage legislation this month.
Unlike the House-passed bill, the Senate's would include small-business
tax cuts that Democrats believe are necessary to placate Republicans and
the business community and win the 60 votes necessary to break a
possible filibuster. The White House yesterday released a statement
opposing the House's minimum-wage increase and praising the Senate for
considering small-business tax breaks.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011001666_pf.html'>Read
more .
name='12'>TROUBLED COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
1000’s of companies lose
money or experience some form of difficulty each
quarter.
The business news
articles below are taken from the
size='3'>Daily Summary of Troubled & Fast Growing U.S. Companies and
Other Business News published by Bastien
Financial Publications.
To begin receiving the COMPLETE
Daily e-Summary, that emails you information on over 70 such companies
each morning, email
face='Times New Roman' color='#0000ff'
size='3'>steve@creditnews.com
size='3'>your name, company name, address, phone and fax.
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your email.
size='3'>D.R. Horton Inc., the big
size='3'>Fort Worth, Tx.
homebuilder, said that its home orders dropped 23% in the first quarter
while cancellations continued to be high. While the first quarter
decline wasn't quite as bad as that in the fourth quarter, it was
significantly higher than an 18% dropoff that had been expected by
industry analysts.
size='3'>Emmis Communications Corp.,
size='3'>Indianapolis
reported its third quarter net income plummeted 98%--to $3.1 million,
including a $10 million loss related mostly to the extinguishment of
debt. Revenue declined 7%--to $91.2 million. The media firm said it
suffered from poor performance at some of its biggest radio markets
in
Angeles
w:st='on'>
York.
size='3'>Environmental Tectonics Corp., a
Southampton,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Pa.
size='3'>maker of flight simulators and other equipment, reported a
third quarter net loss of $1.9 million. Revenue declined 24%--to $4.7
million.
size='3'>Escala Group, a New York-based
collectibles company, was informed that its shares will be delisted from
trading on Nasdaq. The news sent its stock price plunging
41%.
size='3'>Jennifer Convertibles Inc., a
Woodbury, N.Y. furniture retailer, reported a first quarter net loss of
$640,000. Sales fell 8.5%--to $32.7 million.
size='3'>Mills Corp., the troubled Chevy
Chase, Md.-based real-estate developer, warned that it could be headed
for bankruptcy protection as it depletes its cash. At the same
time, the firm announced that an internal audit uncovered certain errors
stemming from 'possible misconduct' by former employees that will force
the firm to write off about $350 million in shareholder equity. The
announcements sent the company's stock price reeling 22%. Currently,
Mills faces an extended 3/31 deadline to repay a $1 billion loan to
Goldman Sachs, although that deadline could possibly be extended
again.
size='3'>Northfield Laboratories Inc.,
size='3'>Evanston
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Ill.
widened second quarter net loss of $7.6 million, up from a $6.3 million
loss in the year-earlier period.