Home-furnishings giant may be first retail victim of market crisis
Wall Street Journal Apr 11, 08 6:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Linens ‘n Things ls expected to file for Chapter 11 by Tuesday, the deadline for a $15-million quarterly debt payment, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move would make the home-furnishings giant the first major retailer sunk by the housing crisis, after bloated debt and plummeting demand handed the New Jersey company $242 million in losses last year.
More »
Discount airline says it will continue flying as it reorganizes
Wall Street Journal Apr 11, 08 6:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Discount carrier Frontier Airlines today said it was filing for Chapter 11 but would keep flying thorough its reorganization, the Wall Street Journal reports. The carrier made the move after its credit-card processing company decided to withhold a larger share of ticket revenues from Frontier. Aloha and ATA also declared bankruptcy this month; both discontinued operations. Frontier reported a $18.7-million loss in 2007.
More »
Hong Kong airline becomes 4th carrier to go bust this month
New York Times Apr 9, 08 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Thousands of passengers have been stranded in Hong Kong, London, and Vancouver with the collapse of Asian budget airline Oasis, the New York Times reports. In a sign that the industry's woes are spreading rapidly, the Hong Kong-based airline joins three US budget carriers to have gone under this month in the face of soaring fuel prices and economic jitters.
More »
Chemical company hopes to leave bankruptcy by year's end
Baltimore Sun Apr 8, 08 1:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Chemical company WR Grace cleared a major hurdle in its 7-year effort to emerge from bankruptcy yesterday, agreeing to pay more than $3 billion to settle asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits, reports the Baltimore Sun . The deal, which a bankruptcy judge must approve, would establish a trust fund to settle current and future lawsuits. "In the final analysis, nothing will really compensate for people who lose their husbands or wives," said a lawyer for the claimants.
More »
Low-cost Ohio carrier with $10 fares is airline industry's third casualty in a week
Columbus Dispatch Apr 5, 08 5:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Anybody who wondered how Skybus could make money with its famous $10 airfares can stop: they didn't. The Ohio-based airline has become the latest US carrier to go bankrupt in the face of soaring fuel costs and a sluggish economy, the Columbus Dispatch reports. It made its last flight yesterday and passengers boarding planes were warned their return tickets had suddenly become one-way.
More »
WTHR Eye Witness News Indianapolis Apr 3, 08 7:57 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Passengers booked on ATA Airlines flights got a rude awakening this morning: The low-cost carrier declared bankruptcy in the middle of the night, shut down operations, and canceled all further flights, Eyewitness News reports. “Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance notice,” the company said in a statement.
More »
Fierce competition and rising fuel costs push carrier over the edge
Honolulu Advertiser Mar 31, 08 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Unable to find a buyer and running out of cash, Hawaii’s ubiquitous Aloha Airlines is shutting down operations after today, idling 1,900 workers and ending more than six decades of island-hopping and transpacific flights, the Honolulu Advertiser reports. The airline filed for bankruptcy March 20 because of rising fuel prices and fierce competition from startup go! airlines.
More »
Bankrupt subprime lender, auditor ripped in report on business practices
New York Times Mar 27, 08 8:23 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Auditors at now-bankrupt New Century Financial—once one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders and one of the earliest to fail—were accused of “mind boggling” lapses in a Justice Department report on the debacle released yesterday. Partners at accounting firm KPMG are said to have ignored “significant improper and imprudent practices” in order to keep the company’s business, the New York Times reports.
More »
Wave of bankruptcies could in turn weaken regional banks
Wall Street Journal Mar 21, 08 3:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The housing market collapse that's sending homeowners into foreclosure is starting to hit small- and medium-size builders left with developments they're unable to sell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buyers are canceling contracts and builders are missing mortgage payments on often highly leveraged projects. Small regional banks, in turn, could be the next victims.
More »
Bankrupt retailer isn't honoring $25M in gift cards
MarketWatch Mar 4, 08 11:00 AM CST
(Newser)
-
Consumers holding Sharper Image gift cards are out a collective $25 million after the gadget retailer stopped honoring the cards when it filed for bankruptcy in February, MarketWatch reports. With the shaky economy likely to produce more bankruptcies over the next year or two, consumers would be wise to redeem other cards they may be hoarding.
More »
Record spike in bankruptcy filings, more ahead
Reuters Mar 4, 08 4:28 AM CST
(Newser)
-
More than a million Americans are headed for bankruptcy in 2008, mostly due to crippling household debt, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. There were 76,120 bankruptcy filings last month—a 37% increase over February last year, and the biggest monthly spike since the change in personal bankruptcy laws in 2005. February's filings were up 15% over January.
More »
After withdrawing free money, man found guilty of bank robbery
Los Angeles Times Feb 28, 08 11:56 AM CST
(Newser)
-
It seemed like a miracle to Xu Ting of Guangzhou: a misplaced decimal point somewhere in the bowels of an ATM meant that his $140 withdrawal debited his account only 14 cents. Over several hours he made another 170 transactions, pocketing more than $24,000. But after getting robbed and buying lottery tickets, he ended up in court—where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for bank robbery, writes the Los Angeles Times .
More »
Democrats back plan
to let jurists change
loan terms
Los Angeles Times Feb 26, 08 1:00 PM CST
(Newser)
-
Over the loud objections of lenders, Senate Democrats are lining up behind a plan to give bankruptcy judges the power to alter mortgages, the LA Times reports. The proposals could go to the floor as early as today. “This bill will have more impact… than any other option currently on the table,” said Jack Kemp, housing secretary in the first Bush administration.
More »