American Airlines Hopes Plea for More Time Flies

AMR - The parent company of American Airlines asked a federal bankruptcy judge to extend their "exclusitivity period" by six months.
An "exclusitivity period" is the period of time in which a company has the exclusive rights to file a reorganizational plan.  AMR filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in November of 2011, and seeking an extension which would take their "exclusitiviety period" to September of 2012.

Reports indicated that was not a surprise and the announcenment came just one day after the Fort Worth, Texas-based company proposed to freeze pensions for many of its workers, retreating from a proposal to terminate them.

"The relief requested will allow American to continue focusing on preserving and enhancing going concern values and restructuring American's financial condition and operations," AMR said in a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan.

A March 22 hearing on the request has been scheduled.

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Posted in American Airlines Bankruptcy , AMR Bankruptcy , Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Businessman Basics: Tips to Avoid Bankruptcy

One of the top search engine searches related to bankruptcy is regarding "entrepreneurship", especially new businesses. We have heard the statistics, most new businesses fail in the first 5 years. We have also heard that famous businessmen like Donald Trump have filed bankruptcy and like a phoenix, rose from the ashes to the top. Let's face it, most of us would like to experience success without dealing with extreme financial stress.... We have put together some tips for those of you looking to start a business or who may currently be entrepreneurs to keep your books "above water" and out of bankruptcy.

Failure to plan is a sure plan to fail.

This first tip may seam simple, but you would be surprised how many businesses and individuals alike do not have a financial plan or idea of the current state of their personal and/or business finances. Create a budget. A budget for you individually, a budget for your family, a budget for your business. Know what you have to spend, what you plan to spend and where you can cut if times get tough. Take advantage of free resources available online such as Mind Your Finances Money Management and Financial Tools.


I have a goal in mind.

Don't go in blind. Do your research and set business goals from the beginning to ensure that you maintain focus and have a realistic picture of the capital needed to start, grow and maintain the business. Define your goals in your marketing plan, business plan and five year forecast. This well help you to quickly say "no" to advertising/business opportunities that may sound good, but cost money and ultimately do not help you to meet your goals.

Time is money.

Take the time to do your research on money and finance with regards to establishing the type of business you are interested in. Constantly keep yourself updated with trends surrounding your industry, banking opportunities, rates, etc...

Avoid excessive usage of credit cards 

You know what they say, "cash is king" maybe not literally, but if you don't have the money - it is best to not charge it. Avoid excessive usage of credit cards and if you do use credit cards, make sure you will be able to pay them off in a timely fashion.

Receipt Please...

Keep track of ALL business transactions, always get a receipt. This will allow you to track your expenses, easily gather your write-offs to ensure the maximum return and also to know what expenditures you need to look at if you need to make "cuts" or if you have extra revenue.

If your business is in debt and you are not sure if bankruptcy is the right option for you, contact Foster Law Offices for a free, personalized consultation.

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Posted in businessman bankruptcy , entrepreneur bankruptcy , Foster Law Offices

Twinkies In Trouble? Hostess Files Bankruptcy...

No more twinkies? Say it isn't true. Hostess Brands, a Texas based company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on January 11, 2011 while continuing to operate but the signs of trouble continue to appear for the maker of Twinkies, Ho Hos and Wonder Bread..

The latest issue .. The Teamsters Union which represents approximately 1/2 of the company's  employees are threatening to strike if the company imposes what they deem as "unfair" contract terms, including wage cuts.

According to the Union,  more than 90 percent of its' Hostess members voted to authorize a strike if "unfair contract terms" are approved as part of the bankruptcy proceedings and  a hearing set for March 5th where a U.S. Bankruptcy judge will have 30 days to issue a ruling.

This isn't the first rodeo for the company comprised of 36 bakeries - Hostess previously filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and re-emerged in 2009. The company has about $860 million in debt.

A spokesman for Hostess declined to comment on the Teamsters’ announcement.

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Posted in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy , hostess bankruptcy , twinkies bankruptcy

Monthly Bankruptcy News Updates from Foster Law Offices

Interested in bankruptcy news? Considering bankruptcy, but not sure which bankruptcy lawyer may be best for you? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, once a month you will receive an email from Foster Law Offices highlighting bankruptcy news important to you and Northwestern Pennsylvania.

From fun stories to changes in legislature, tips and more... our monthly bankruptcy newsletter is meant to be an informational tool to help you learn more about bankruptcy.

Don't worry - we will NEVER sell your information, or send you spam and you can unsubscribe at ANY time... how cool is that? January's newsletter will be sent out later this week - so sign up now!  This month we will feature 3 cool tools to help you organize your finances BEFORE tax time and more!

Contact Foster Law Offices for a free consultation today!

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Posted in bankruptcy news , bankruptcy newsletter , Foster Law Offices

Robosigning Credit Cards: The Next Scandal

A friend forwarded me a brilliantly written blog post, that posed a very important question - Could the 'Robosigning' of credit cards be the next big bank scandal? Even bigger than the mortgage crisis?

You can read the entire article by clicking here... or here are some of the highlights, the cliff notes version, if you are short on time:

• Robosigning consists of blatantly illegal practices in which banks and mortgage companies had their employees sign affidavits and other documents without verifying the information therein; forge signatures on documents; backdate documents; falsely notarize documents; create new documents to replace missing ones; or some combination of all the above. Did I mention that all of this is illegal?

• The companies that did this claimed that they had to cut corners because they couldn’t keep up with all of the paperwork created by the housing boom last decade. But we now know that this is not true — there’s evidence that robo-signing goes back all the way to at least 1998.

• So in short the widespread and systematic robosigning of mortgage documents have created a real unresolved nightmare. And now there are indications that similar issues may exist within the credit card industry. Consider the very curious behavior of JP Morgan Chase, as reported in that little-noticed American Banker article from last week:
  

  JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly ceased filing lawsuits to collect consumer debts around the nation, dismissing in-house attorneys and virtually shutting down a collections machine that as recently as nine months ago was racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in monthly judgments.

  When a bank leaves money on the table for no obvious reason, you know that something’s not quite right. 

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Posted in bank scandal , credit cards , jp morgan , robo signing

Kodak Plans Focus on Printing Following Bankruptcy

If Kodak carries through with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the coming weeks as media reports suggest, it could mark the end of a rich, 131-year history as the king of all-things related to photos and cameras, according to a report by MarketWatch.com.

In the report, Rafferty Capital Markets Analyst Mark Kaufman says the company likely will completely exit the consumer photo and camera business.

"Forget about it. It's not making money now," Kaufman, told MarketWatch.com.

Instead, the plan would be for Kodak (NYSE:EK) to sell off all of its photo business, unload an extremely profitable chunk of its massive patent library and focus almost exclusively on digital printing as a business-to-business company.

"It's not a consumer business, its business-to-business. That's what you're going to have," Kaufman said in the report.

It is not all "doom and gloom" this change would be good news for the Dayton operations, where Kodak has 570 employees at a facility that makes inkjet printers, which are reportedly competing well in the marketplace against such rivals as Hewlett-Packard Company and Cannon.  According to an article published by the Dayton Business Journal, "With the company already having discussed plans for possible growth in Dayton through state and local incentives, an emphasis on the printing side of the business would make those plans more likely to happen. That could lead to more jobs in Dayton and a stronger business for Kodak going forward".

If the reports of how Kodak would look after emerging from bankruptcy are correct, the company may very well boost its operations in Dayton. In fact, the company already has expressed interest in growing locally.

In late September, the state of Ohio approved a tax credit package worth $2.9 million over 10 years to entice Kodak to expand in the Dayton region. In addition, the city of Kettering recently committed a $435,000 grant to the company.

State officials said if the company decides to expand in Kettering, it would invest at least $7.5 million in new manufacturing machinery as well as research and development equipment to help position the Kettering facility for future growth. Read the entire article from the Dayton Business Journal here.

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Posted in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy , kodak , kodak bankruptcy

Baseball: Bankruptcy on Base?

It's a new year and "bankruptcy" has been a hot topic in the game of baseball during 2011 and now 2012... According to an article published by Amazin' Avenue, sources say the Mets have hired CRG Partners — the same turnaround consultants that handled the Rangers' bankruptcy sale — and that a team sale with or without bankruptcy is on the table.

The Mets have confirmed the hiring, stating that they have "engaged CRG Partners to provide services in connection with financial reporting and budgeting processes."

The article further states that "Hiring turnaround consultants doesn't necessarily mean that the team is specifically preparing for bankruptcy and a sale — consultants like these are brought in to figure out how a struggling business can become profitable — but it further underscores the Mets' moribund financial situation. Also, a turnaround company typically gets only a modest fee if it comes in and merely makes recommendations; it has a considerable economic incentive to push for a huge sale when a sizable commission is in the offing".

Several sports-sites infer that Mets fans would actually be EXCITED about the prospect of bankruptcy, considering how well the Rangers' situation turned out following their filing of bankruptcy.

 The Amazin' Avenue article also examines what may be at jeopardy if the team indeed does file bankruptcy,  "Every bankruptcy sale has three parties: the ownership group that is in debt, the creditors, and the buyers. If this process is indeed in the Mets' future, it could be a long and difficult one with no shortage of delays and acrimony to come. William Snyder, the CRG consultant who led the Rangers' bankruptcy sale, made many enemies along the way — including new Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg, who said that he'd "met some duplicitous people in my life, but [Snyder] set a new standard." But part of the reason that the sale worked was because the bidding process upped the price and brought in more money for the team's creditors".

Whether you are excited about the possibility of new ownership and a fresh start for the Mets or upset about all the teams who seem to be "in over their head"... one fact remains, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Mets. This team in a large market with a new stadium and regional sports network will have plenty of wealthy bidders lining up to the "base" hoping for their chance to "hit a home run" and take over ownership of this team.
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Posted in baseball bankruptcy , mets bankruptcy , new york mets , rangers bankruptcy