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August 9, 2007
name='1'>Bankruptcy Trustee Sues Big Investor in
Refco
The trustee for Refco, a
commodities brokerage firm that collapsed in fraud a few months after it
went public in 2005, has sued Thomas H. Lee, the private equity firm
that controlled Refco, saying the firm should have known about the fraud
before it sold stock, the
size='3'>New York Times reported today. The
suit, filed yesterday in
w:st='on'>Federal District
Court
size='3'>Manhattan
hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The firm has argued that it
was also a victim of a fraud that federal prosecutors say was engineered
by former Refco CEO Phillip R. Bennett. Bennett and two other former
Refco executives are scheduled to go on trial on March 17. The Lee
company and funds that it managed took control of Refco in a leveraged
buyout in 2004. The suit does not maintain that Lee executives knew of
the fraud, but does argue that they knew of numerous problems at Refco
and had evidence that Mr. Bennett had lied to them, well before the
public offering.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/business/09refco.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print'>Read
more.
Subprime
Mortgages
name='2'>Senate Banking Chairman Releases Proposal to Combat
Subprime Abuse
Senate Banking
Chairman
size='3'>Chris
released a set of proposals designed to curb lending abuses that have
led to turmoil in the subprime mortgage market, including some
provisions that would place greater regulations on mortgage
brokers,
size='3'>CongressDaily reported yesterday.
Dodd in a statement called for banning a practice known as yield spread
premium, in which mortgage brokers are eligible to receive fees from
lenders for issuing a loan with a higher interest rate than the minimum
rate the borrower could have qualified for. He said brokers -- who
originate about 70 percent of the subprime mortgage loans that go to
less-creditworthy borrowers -- should be required to act either as a
fiduciary agent of the borrower or as an agent of the lender, who would
be responsible for the sales practice of the broker. Previously, Dodd
had primarily been pressing the Federal Reserve to issue rules under the
1994 Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act that could stem problems
in the $1.5 trillion subprime lending market, where a high level of
defaults have forced some lenders into bankruptcy and wiped out profits
at some firms that had packaged the loans as mortgage-backed securities
to be sold on the secondary market. Dodd released his statement of
principles hours after Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) announced her
platform to crack down on abusive lending practices by banning yield
spread premium and require federal registration of mortgage
brokers.
href='http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Articles.Detail&Article_id=174'>Read
Dodd’s press release.
name='3'>Report: Five Mortgage REITs at Risk
A research report
released Wednesday pointed to five mortgage real estate investment
trusts that could fall prey to the liquidity crisis currently squeezing
the credit markets, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The Center
for Financial Research and Analysis, a unit of RiskMetrics Group, ranked
NovaStar Financial Inc. as a high liquidity risk and Crystal River
Capital Inc., Thornburg Mortgage Inc., Luminent Mortgage Capital Inc.
and Deerfield Triarc Capital Corp. as moderately high liquidity risks.
NovaStar originates and sells subprime mortgages, while Deerfield
and
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Crystal
size='3'>River
in various mortgage-backed securities. Luminent and Thornburg both
purchase home loans to securitize as well as invest in mortgage-backed
securities. All five depend on short-term financing to fund their
businesses and use either mortgages or securities backed by home loans
as collateral for the financing. Those REITs that have little capital on
hand or unencumbered assets to cash in most could have trouble meeting
the margin calls, according to the report.
href='http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070808/apfn_mortgage_reits_liquidity_report.html?.v=1'>Read
more.
name='4'>American Home Mortgage Receives Court Approval for
Financing
American Home Mortgage Corp.
received bankruptcy court approval on Tuesday for debtor-in-possession
financing to pay salaries and other costs as it shuts most businesses,
as well as funding to keep its loan servicing unit temporarily in
operation, Reuters reported yesterday. American Home, which filed for
bankruptcy on Monday, got interim approval to tap DIP financing provided
by WL Ross & Co., a firm run by distressed-asset specialist Wilbur
Ross. WL Ross on Monday had committed to provide up to $50 million in
financing to cover general business expenses during the bankruptcy
proceedings. The mortgage lender also got interim court approval for the
use of cash collateral that will help maintain its loan-servicing
business while it is put up for sale. The company has said it wants to
sell its loan-servicing business and loan portfolio through an auction.
Bids are due Aug. 29, according to court papers.
href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070808/bs_nm/americanhome_bankruptcy_court_dc_2'>Read
more.
name='5'>Money Funds May Also Hold Subprime
Investments
Some money-market funds,
which invest in certificates of deposit and commercial paper, may have
investments containing mortgage-backed securities that could include
risky subprime loans, the
size='3'>Wall Street Journal reported today.
That isn't likely to cause big losses at these funds or endanger
them, but it is prompting money-market
managers to pay closer attention to what is backing the commercial paper
they buy, demand additional compensation for investing in a particular
type of vehicle that issues some asset-backed commercial paper and call
for greater transparency in this market. The financial vehicles that
issue asset-backed commercial paper and potentially allow banks and
other financial institutions to push risky loans off their books.
Asset-backed commercial paper accounts for about half the $2.2 trillion
commercial-paper market. The fact that mortgage loans could be causing
grief in the commercial-paper market underscores how widely Wall Street
packaged and then sold this kind of debt among investors.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118661509601392327.html?mod=us_business_whats_news'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='6'>Utilities Balk at Tweeter's Plan for Payment
Bankrupt electronics
maker Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc. faced opposition on Tuesday
from utility companies, which have said that Tweeter has not provided
them with enough assurance that they will be paid for their
services, Bankruptcy
Law360 reported yesterday. The
utilities—Florida Power & Light Co., Baltimore Gas and
Electric Co., Potomac Electric Power Co., Delmarva Power & Light Co.
and the Atlantic City Electric Co.—filed an objection to a motion
by Tweeter proposing that it should be allowed, but not obligated, to
pay a two-month security deposit to assure payment for future services.
They said that leaving the security deposit to Tweeter’s
discretion was not
adequate assurance under the Bankruptcy Code.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=31908'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
Autos
name='7'>Collins & Aikman Wants to Keep Chapter 11 Case Open
until February
Anticipating a fight over
claims against it on exiting bankruptcy, Collins & Aikman
Corp. has asked a judge for
an order extending the closing of its chapter 11 case until next
February, Bankruptcy
Law360 reported yesterday. The auto parts
maker, which is currently operating its business as a
debtor-in-possession, told Bankruptcy
size='3'>Judge Steven Rhodes the resolution of
administrative claims could require “the court’s continued
supervision” beyond the scheduled closing date of Aug. 18. Under
the company’s exit strategy, all administrative claims must be
lodged with the court within 30 days after the plan’s effective
date. However, Collins & Aikman and the plan’s administrator,
through the post-consummation trust, have six months from the effective
date to object to the claims.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=31918'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=31918'>
face='Times New Roman'>
size='3'>
name='8'>Delphi
size='3'>Posts Loss, Flat Sales
Delphi Corp. reported
yesterday that it posted a narrower net loss during the second quarter,
reflecting charges for its restructuring and estimated costs related to
lawsuits over allegations of accounting improprieties that led to
restated earnings, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The Troy,
Mich.-based auto supplier and former parts-making operation of General
Motors Corp. reported a net loss of $821 million, or $1.46 a share,
compared with a loss of $2.3 billion, or $4.05 a share, during the same
period last year. Last year's second quarter included charges of $1.9
billion related to
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>employee attrition programs. Delphi said that the $332 million
charge is related to its estimated liabilities from lawsuits pending in
U.S. District Court in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Detroit
which filed for bankruptcy in 2005, said that its second-quarter
earnings also included $301 million in reorganization costs such as
employee termination benefits and expenses related to a plant closing
in
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Spain
size='3'>.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080800903.html'>Read
more.
name='9'>Auto Makers Cut 2007 Sales Forecasts
The top three auto makers
in the
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>indicated further market softening this year, raising pressure
on the industry as a whole to cut production or offer profit-sapping
incentives to keep cars and trucks moving off the lots, the
Wall Street Journal
reported today. Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally signaled
he might cut production as an alternative to deeper incentives like
no-interest financing and other discounts, arguing they 'artificially'
increase demand and undermine profitability long term. Citing housing,
high gasoline prices and credit market turmoil, he said weakness 'might
be spreading, and it might be a bigger problem than what we all
initially thought.' Meanwhile, General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor
Corp. yesterday lowered their outlook for overall industry sales this
year. GM suggested it would consider incentives in critical areas, as it
faces pressure from
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Toyota
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118658611303591753.html?mod=us_business_whats_news'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='10'>Asarco Creditors Seek Approval to Sue
Executives
Creditors of Asarco LLC
have asked a bankruptcy court for permission to sue former executives,
claiming they stripped the beleaguered copper mining company of valuable
assets and threatened its long-term viability,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Bankruptcy Law360
size='3'>reported yesterday. Filing an
emergency motion for authority to assert causes of action, the unsecured
creditors' committee said that an investigation had revealed that Asarco
had colorable claims against certain directors and officers. The
committee claims top executives, at the direction of parent company
Grupo
face='Times New












Roman'
size='3'>Mexico,
“systematically and methodically liquidated Asarco’s
assets…all to the detriment of Asarco and its
creditors.”
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=31938'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='11'>Indiana Water Company Files for Bankruptcy
In a move
size='3'>Lawrence
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Ind.
Deborah Cantwell called a delaying tactic, the city's beleaguered water
company, Lawrence Utilities LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection
yesterday, the
size='3'>Indianapolis Star reported today. The
action effectively halts action in a Marion Superior Court lawsuit
brought by city officials and ratepayers against Lawrence Utilities,
said company attorney
size='3'>George Hopper. Yesterday's bankruptcy
filing comes less than a month before Superior Court arguments were
expected in city officials' latest effort to wrest control of the
waterworks from Lawrence Utilities. City attorneys had asked Superior
Court Judge David J. Dreyer to appoint a receiver to oversee the
utilities as the case winds through the court system, but the bankruptcy
filing will stall that request.
href='http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200708090245/LOCAL1802/708090489&template=printart'>Read
more.
International
name='12'>Russia
face='Times New Roman' size='3'> Moves Closer to Forcing
Volgotanker into Bankruptcy
A Russian court appointed
a supervisory manager yesterday for
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Russia
biggest river shipper, Volgotanker, a first step in an impending
bankruptcy and sale of the assets of the indebted firm, Reuters reported
yesterday. The
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Moscow
arbitration court upheld a 3.34 billion roubles ($131.1
million) claim by the Federal Tax Service against Volgotanker and named
Alexander Volzhanin as supervisory manager. The claim includes 2.13
billion roubles of tax debt and fines. Volgotanker, Europe's largest oil
products carrier by river, had to stop operations last year after its
total fleet of over 350 ships was seized due to the back tax claims of
over $150 million for 2001-2005.
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Russia
state property fund set an auction for May to sell Volgotanker's five
ships to recover a part of the debt, but cancelled the sale in July
after already postponing it twice without giving a reason for its
decision.
href='http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070808/3/362ft.html'>Read
more.
name='13'>TROUBLED COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
The business news
articles below are taken from the U.S. Business Journal’s Daily
Summary of Troubled & Fast Growing U.S. Companies which is published
by Bastien Financial Publications.
size='3'>ABI
50% discount off of our regular subscription rate of $500 when
subscribing to the complete Daily Summary.
To subscribe email
steve@creditnews.com
href='mailto:steve@creditnews.com'>
color='#0000ff'
size='3'><mailto:steve@creditnews.com>
size='3'>or call 800-407-9044—use
w:st='on'>
size='3'>ABI
size='3'>Code 37
BlueLinx Holdings
Corp., an
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Atlanta
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Ga.
size='3'>distributor of building products, reported its second quarter
net income declined 43%–to $5.4 million. Revenue declined
22%–to $1.1 billion.
Callon Petroleum
Co.,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Natchez
size='3'>, Ms., reported its second quarter net income sank 79%–to
$2.6 million. Revenue declined 8%–to $43.5 million.
Clearwire
Corp.’s stock price tumbled 15% after
the
size='3'>Kirkland,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Wa
size='3'>. firm announced a second quarter loss of $118 million,
compared to a $76.8 million loss in the year-earlier period.
/>
First
BanCorp, a
Puerto Rican bank, agreed to pay $8.5 million in penalties in order to
settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it hid the
actual status of some $4 billion in mortgage-related transactions from
auditors and investors in the period 2000-2005. The firm neither
admitted nor denied any wrongdoing in the matter.
GMAC LLC
size='3'>, the
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Detroit
size='3'>, Mi. financial-services company, stated that, as of the end of
the second quarter, its financial disclosure procedures and controls
weren’t effective. According to the firm’s quarterly report
filed with the SEC, there are material weaknesses the way in which its
controls were developed and executed, as of the end of that quarter.
/>
HomeBanc
Corp., an
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Atlanta
size='3'>,
size='3'>Ga.
that it will get out of the lending business and shutter its office
in
size='3'>Raleigh,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.C.
firm will sell five of its branches to Countrywide Financial Corp. of
Calabasas, Ca., the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
face='Times New Roman'>’s biggest mortgage-banking
concern, for an undisclosed amount.
Impac Mortgage
Holdings
size='3'>’s stock price sank 28% after the mortgage-lending
company said that it will stop offering so-called low-documentation
loans that had been its main business. Impac, which reduced its
payroll recently, added that it will continue making necessary
adjustments to its operations.
PainCare Holdings
Inc., an
Orlando, Fl. provider of medical and surgical pain solutions, reached an
agreement to sell its controlling stake in PSHS Beta Partners Ltd. to
Surgery Partners LLC of Tampa, Fl. in a deal that will bring in about
$4.4 million in cash for PainCare. PainCare reported a loss in its most
recent quarter of $3.2 million on revenue of $13.8 million.
Trident Microsystems
Inc.,
w:st='on'>Santa
Clara
investigation by both the Justice Department and the Securities and
Exchange Commission into its options-granting practices. Trident
added that it will incur about $52 million in extra charges related to
misdated options for the period 1993 through 2005 and another $4 million
in charges stemming from problems in 2006. The company added that it
fired its chief accounting officer and another finance employee while
another executive resigned at Trident’s request.