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September 11,
2006
Autos
id='1'>Tower Automotive Gets Extension of Exclusivity
Period
Tower Automotive Inc. has
given a draft of its chapter 11 reorganization plan to its unsecured
creditors’ committee, triggering an extension of its exclusivity
period for another two months,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported on Friday.
Judge Allan L.
Gropper of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
size='3'>Manhattan
size='3'>previously said that if Tower submitted a draft of its plan to
the creditors committee by Sept. 7, then he would automatically grant
the two-month extension. The ruling marks the sixth time the bankrupt
auto parts maker has been granted an extension in its chapter 11
proceedings. The deadline for filing a reorganization plan is now Oct.
25, with an exclusive solicitation period that will last until Dec.
26. The case is In re
Tower Automotive Inc., case number 05-10578,
in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York.
w:st='on'>
id='2'>Meridian
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> Proposes Fourth Amended
Plan
Meridian Automotive
Systems Inc. filed its fourth amended reorganization plan on Friday
after the parts maker had to scrap its earlier exit plan this month
following a sharp decline in production at
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>vehicle manufacturers,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported on Friday.
Although
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Meridian
third amended plan was approaching confirmation, the
face='Times New Roman'>
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Michigan
company had to cancel it because the $375 million exit
package was too expensive, according to company officials. The parts
maker’s latest plan proposes a more modest $255 million in secured
exit financing, according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware. The exit package includes a $150
million secured term loan, a $75 million senior secured revolving loan
and a $30 million letter-of-credit facility. The case is
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Meridian Automotive Systems-Composites
Operations Inc., case no. 05-11168, in
the
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware.
id='3'>Former Collins & Aikman Executive Targeted in Fraud
Probe
Lawyers at the Securities
and Exchange Commission recently notified former Collins & Aikman
Corp. CEO David A. Stockman that he could face civil charges related to
upbeat statements he made to investors two months before the auto parts
company sought bankruptcy protection last year, the
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Washington Post
size='3'>reported on Friday. Securities regulators are examining the
role Stockman and other former executives played in alleged financial
irregularities at Collins & Aikman, with an eye on whether Stockman
may have lied to investors by telling them the company's finances were
being 'managed quite effectively' when he was aware of mounting
problems. Federal prosecutors have also subpoenaed financial records
from the company.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR20060…'>Read
more.
Delta
Flying Back Pilots and Attendants
Bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc.
said Friday it is recalling up to 65 pilots and about 200 flight
attendants as it expands operations, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Delta, which entered bankruptcy protection last September under heavy
fuel and labor costs, also said it is on track to exit bankruptcy in the
first half of 2007. The recall brings Delta's staff of active pilots to
6,060, boosting it by about 1 percent. It brings the number of Delta's
active flight attendants to about 11,200, an increase of about 2
percent.
href='http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/08/news/companies/delta_recall.reut/index…'>Read
more.
id='5'>Consumer Credit Slowed in July
Consumer borrowing increased
less than expected in July as higher incomes allowed Americans to reduce
their credit card use, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Consumer
credit, or nonmortgage loans to individuals, rose 2.8 percent at an
annual rate, to $2.35 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported on Friday.
In June, consumer debt increased at a rate of 7.3 percent. Total
consumer borrowing increased by $5.5 billion in July, the report showed.
Nonrevolving debt, including loans to buy cars, rose $3.1 billion in
July after increasing $5.01 billion in June. Revolving debt, which
includes credit cards, rose $2.4 billion after gaining $9.1
billion.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/09/business/09econ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin…'>Read
more.
Refco
Proposes $642 Million Settlement with Senior Lenders
Refco Inc. has asked a
federal bankruptcy court to approve a settlement with its secured
lenders that would release the debtors from liability related to fraud
claims and save the estate $6 million a month in interest,
Portfolio Media
reported on Friday. Under the proposed settlement, Refco
would pay its senior lenders $642 million, plus pre- and post-petition
interest, as well as up to $13.5 million in lender’s fees. The
settlement will ensure the presence of funds to satisfy other
constituencies by eliminating interest payments, cutting down on
professional fees incurred by secured lenders and committees and getting
to the bottom of disputes over cash collateral, the debtors contend. In
addition, the settlement would alleviate the debtors’ need to
defend against and possibly pay out on various claims, including claims
based on alleged fraud.
id='7'>Bondholders Support Congoleum Chapter 11 Plan
The Congoleum
Corp.’s bondholders’ committee said Thursday that it has
agreed to withdraw its alternative reorganization plan after striking a
deal with the flooring company and asbestos claimants over amendments to
Congoleum’s pending plan,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported on Friday.
The resolution to the conflict with bondholders clears the way for
Congoleum to file its plan next week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for
the District of New Jersey and removes roadblocks so the plan may be
possibly confirmed in early 2007. The bondholders had filed the rival
plan jointly with the company’s insurers, Continental Casualty Co.
and Continental Insurance Co. A disclosure statement hearing on the plan
is slated for Oct. 19. The case is Congoleum
Corp., case number 03-51524, in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Trenton
size='3'>.
OCA
Could Emerge from Bankruptcy this Week
OCA Inc., the
Metairie,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>La.
size='3'>company that manages orthodontic practices, could finalize a
plan this week to allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy as a
private entity, theNew Orleans Times
Picayune reported yesterday. Bankruptcy
Judge Jerry
Brown began hearings last week on the
company's bankruptcy reorganization plan and said he expects the
proceedings to conclude today. OCA filed for chapter 11 in March after
it failed to file reports on its earnings and other timely financial
statements with regulators. The company also faced lawsuits from a
growing number of doctors in contractual disputes with OCA.
href='http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf?/base/money-3/11578752492467…'>Read
more.
id='9'>Creditors Lose Bid to Dismiss Cornell
Bankruptcy
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in
size='3'>Boston
dismiss Cornell Trading Inc.’s chapter 11 case on Thursday,
the
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Burlington (Vt.)
size='3'>Free Press reported on Saturday. The motion to dismiss
would have given some 1,200 unsecured creditors -- including companies,
utilities, landlords, employment agencies, employees, suppliers,
customers and the Vermont Department of Taxes -- about 5.3 percent of
the combined $8.89 million they are owed by Cornell Trading. The
creditors had agreed to split $493,634 generated through the sale of
store leases, but the deal needed court approval.
href='http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060909/…'>Read
more.
id='10'>Sands’ Buyer to Raze Hotel for an Upscale
Casino
Pinnacle Entertainment
Inc. has agreed to buy the Sands Casino Hotel in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Atlantic City
size='3'>N.J.
million with the intention of tearing it down and building an upscale
casino-hotel complex, the
size='3'>New York Times reported on Saturday.
The Sands was built 26 years ago but ran into severe debt problems
before being bought by Carl Icahn in 2000. After a series of transfers
into holding companies, the Sands went into bankruptcy in 2005. The case
is in bankruptcy court in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Camden
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.J.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/09/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/10njcasino…'>Read
more.
w:st='on'>
id='11'>Richmond
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'> Jeweler Files for Bankruptcy
The parent company of
Schwarzschild Jewelers, a Richmond, Va.-based retailer, filed for
bankruptcy protection as sales have declined and losses continue to
mount, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on Friday. Initial
plans call for Tyringham Holdings Inc. to sell its three-store
Schwarzschild chain to Carlyle & Co., a high-end jeweler based
in
size='3'>. The company listed $24.8 million in assets and $24.3 million
in liabilities in its filing late Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Richmond
href='http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/R…'>Read
more.
International
id='12'>Fewer Canadian Consumers and Businesses Filing for
Bankruptcy
The Canadian superintendent of
bankruptcy reports that 5,711 individuals and 445 businesses declared
bankruptcy in July compared with 6,799 individuals and 611 businesses in
June, the Canadian Press reported yesterday. In the first seven months
of this year, 46,778 consumers filed for bankruptcy, compared with
50,016 in 2005, and 4,140 businesses filed, compared with 4,660 in the
same period last year.
href='http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/10092006/2/business-fewer-people-businesses-…'>Read
more.
id='13'>British Employers Force Delay in Pension
Changes
The British government
yesterday delayed implementing age discrimination rules expected to
outlaw companies from giving older workers higher pension contributions,
the London
Guardian reported on Saturday. Regulations
tackling age discrimination are due to take effect on Oct.1. While most
of them will become law on that date, those affecting pensions will be
delayed until Dec. 1. The pension minister, James Purnell, said he was
reacting to the concerns of the pensions industry and employers that
provisions covering pensions in the Employment Equality (Age)
Regulations 2006 could deter employers from giving more generous
contributions to older workers.
href='http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1868326,00.html'>Read
more.
href='http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1868326,00.html'>