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Tom Horton, CEO of American Airlines parent AMR Corp., said yesterday that the airline is nearing the end of its bankruptcy restructuring and is benefiting from cost savings and getting a boost to revenue from its fleet and product upgrades and international expansion, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. After AMR posted its first second-quarter profit since 2007, Horton said that further cost savings and revenue improvements will kick in over the coming months based on expected labor productivity gains, new vendor and supplier contracts and the introduction of larger regional jets. So far, the company has extracted about 80 percent of the cost savings it expected to capture in bankruptcy, where it landed in late 2011, Horton said. Read more.

Creditors of bankrupt gas station operator Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. will pocket an extra $93 million under a settlement between Getty and its former parent, Russian oil giant Lukoil, Reuters reported yesterday. A litigation trust, established after Getty's liquidation to pursue money for creditors, is finalizing settlement documents with Lukoil, halting a trial that had been playing out since May in bankruptcy court. The deal still needs approval from Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman. Papers filed on the court's electronic docket show the sides have scheduled an approval hearing on July 29.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added its voice to the chorus of regulators worried battery maker Exide Technologies Inc.'s bankruptcy loan poses a threat to public health and safety, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. California, Louisiana and Texas regulators have already weighed in with concerns about Exide, which recycles lead acid batteries to get the raw material for its products. On Tuesday, it was the federal government's turn to speak out, with a warning lenders have Exide on such a tight financial leash that it won't be able to act in the event of an environmental disaster.

European competition regulators have pushed back a final decision on the proposed merger of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. until next month after the carriers offered concessions to gain approval for the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The proposed remedies weren't disclosed and the European Commission isn't viewed by analysts as a significant roadblock for the deal, which would create the world's largest airline. Meanwhile, in the U.S. the carriers have steered clear of discussing possible concessions as the transaction is reviewed by the Justice Department. The European Commission cleared without conditions the last two big U.S. airline mergers—those creating United Continental Holdings Inc. and an enlarged Delta Air Lines Inc. It has continued to probe the competitive impact of the three big marketing alliances that dominate trans-Atlantic travel, requiring some member carriers to give up takeoff and landing slots at congested airports.

Orchard Supply Hardware Corp. won bankruptcy-court approval to borrow the remainder of a $176.3 million bankruptcy financing package meant to see the hardware chain through its sale to Lowe's Cos. or a higher bidder, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher S. Sontchi on Monday overruled objections from Orchard's creditors to give final approval to the financing package.

Hog producer AgFeed Industries Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday after agreeing to wind down its supply contract with its main U.S. customer, Hormel Foods Corp., which purchases weanling pigs and hogs from the company, the Wall Street Journal reported today. AgFeed plans to sell its U.S. operations while under chapter 11 protection, and it is also looking for a buyer for its Chinese units, which aren't included in the U.S. bankruptcy case. The Hendersonville, Tenn.-based company has lined up a $79 million leading bid for most of its U.S. assets from Maschhoffs LLC, a Carlyle, Ill., hog production network, according to court papers. The company has been involved in a dispute with Hormel that led to an arbitration award of $7.9 million against AgFeed earlier this year. This decision spurred an event of default under the company's $68.5 million credit facility, which matured in February and hasn't yet been repaid.

US Airways Group Inc. shareholders approved the carrier's plan to merge with AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, clearing another hurdle in the deal that would create the world's largest carrier, Reuters reported on Friday. Of nearly 132.8 million shares voted, 132.3 million were in favor of the merger, the company announced on Friday after its annual meeting in New York. US Airways said 257,757 shares were cast against the merger, and 256,523 abstained. The $11 billion merger deal was announced in February and the companies expect to complete it by the end of September. The new American Airlines will be based in Dallas-Fort Worth. The merger must still be approved by antitrust regulators. The U.S. Justice Department, along with attorneys general from 19 states, is considering whether the merger would harm competition. Some states involved in the probe worry that they could lose an airline hub because of the transaction. Others are concerned about potential curbs to service in smaller cities.

Once teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and subject of a buyout bidding war during which offers shrank, Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. is turning into a bonanza for its private-equity owners, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The firms that bought the luxury-home-furnishings retailer in 2008 are on track to make about eight times their initial investment, when including their remaining stock holdings in the company, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings. This is a huge return among deals struck in the years leading up to and during the financial crisis. Five years ago, as the housing crash crimped the company's profits, a group led by Connecticut private-equity firms Catterton Partners and Tower Three Partners LLC and the retailer's chief executive took the company private for about $177 million.

NE Opco Inc., the largest closely held envelope maker in North America, reached a settlement with creditors and lenders that will allow for a consensual ride through the bankruptcy process, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The envelope maker was set to seek court approval at a hearing on Friday to obtain access to the final $7.5 million of a $67.5 million bankruptcy loan. Instead, the company announced that it had reached an agreement on how the bankruptcy will proceed, gaining the support of the official unsecured creditors committee. NE Opco will return to court on July 19 to seek approval of the settlement and final amount of financing.

Indebted Spanish media company Promotora de Informaciones SA has weighed filing for chapter 11 protection in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported today. The possible move by Prisa, as the company is known, comes as it seeks to refinance about $3 billion of debt. It is unclear whether a chapter 11 filing is still under serious discussion or when a final decision will be made. Prisa, owner of the influential El País newspaper, is racking up losses amid a challenging climate for media companies in Europe and elsewhere, high financing expenses for the company and a sluggish Spanish economy.