April 17, 2009

The Daily Bankruptcy News

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Law:

How Many Lawyers Has Troutman Sanders Laid Off? Firm Won't Say
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General Growth Taps Weil Gotshal
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Bankruptcy lawyer fees and Harvey Miller
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As Students Fret Over Jobs, Law Schools Get Creative
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The Job Hunt: Putting a J.D. to Use Outside the Law
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Skadden offers one-year sabbatical on 33% salary
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DLA Piper offers new recruits $60k to work for charity
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Considering Bankruptcy Law? Proceed With Caution
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Amid the real estate rubble, law firms build anew
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NY Won’t Admit Would-Be Lawyer Due to $430K in Unpaid Student Loans
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Lawyer Wins Monopoly Championship; Plans to Use Winnings to Pay Student Loans
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The Bankruptcy Files: General Growth, Noble, and AbitibiBowater
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Lawyer Excels Despite Disability
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BigBabies of BigLaw
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Malpractice Suit Stayed Against Heller
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Judge Dismisses Trustee's Suit Against Mayer Brown Over Refco
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Maher misses out as Mayer Brown revamps management structure
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Former WolfBlock Chair to Join Cozen
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Musical Chairs: Another Partner Leaves Akin Gump
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1 in 5 Firms Face Unfunded Pension Threat
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Attorneys -- the Biggest Desk Potatoes Around -- Start Eyeing Treadmill, Standing Desks
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Mistakes By Prosecutors Alive and Well; Few Punished
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Judge Raps Coughlin for 'Shocking Conflict,' but How About Others?
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Law Firm Fined $25K for Trumpeting Reported $17M Settlement
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Business Casual: BigLaw Firm's Laid-Back Attitude Leads to Suit Against It
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Attorneys for the Poorest Clients Working Too Hard, Should Reject New Clients, Study Finds
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S&C’s Cohen Gives Props to Obama Over Handling of Banking Crisis
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Tough Times Have BigLaw Firm Reassessing Its Commitment to Pro Bono Work
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Attorney May Charge No More Than $1,500 for Routine Chapter 7 Case, Florida Court Rules
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Circuit Rules Against Webcasting of Trial
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Tax Lawyer Shows Up on List of Tax Scofflaws
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Former Arnold & Porter Partner Disbarred in D.C.
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Fulbright Lawyer Pens Letter Offering Source $500K if WSJ Story Is Killed
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HLS Grade Reform: The Official Memo
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A Yale Law School Degree: Not Worth What It Used To Be?
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UC Irvine School of Law — More Selective than Yale? Zot!
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Pls Hndle Thx: Not Fade Away
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Freshfields office manager trumps George Clooney
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Judges:

Lazy Judge Agrees to Resign As Soon as He gets His Pension So He Can Get Paid for Doing Even Less
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Bellicose On the Bench: Judge Accused of Paying for Sex With Women, Threatening Men
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Judge Accused of Routinely Leaving Work Early Agrees to Resign
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Judge Charged in 2 Arenas Over Alleged Activities with Prostitutes
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Wall Street:

Stock Futures Mostly Higher on Citi, GE Earnings
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Stock Futures Mixed as Citi, GE Report Earnings
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European Stocks Higher After Citigroup Earnings
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Street Shrugs Off JPMorgan Gain
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Retailing:

Retailers Say They Have No Plan To Leave General Growth Malls
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A Big Mall Operator's Self-Inflicted Woes
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Bankrupt General Growth Properties Says It Will Be Fine--Maybe
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General Growth files largest US real estate bankruptcy
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Retailers Stay With General Growth, But May Seek Breaks
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General Growth filing clouds future for stores
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General Growth blames credit crisis, not shopping slowdown
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General Growth's Reliance on Debt May Allow Rivals to Buy Malls
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General Growth workout vet now aiding retailers
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General Growth president gives insight on bankruptcy
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Ackman Providing Financing For General Growth Bankruptcy
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Ackman Protects General Growth Bet With Bankruptcy Financing
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Ackman's Mall Gamble
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General Growth Properties DIP Financing To Cost Libor +12%
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General Growth bankruptcy may revive property deals
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The Mall is Dead
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Mall REITs Fall On General Growth Chapter 11
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Don't fret, bankruptcy won't shut your mall
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Halabi May Lose Control of Times Square Mall as Payments Missed
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Retail shares rise after drop in jobless claims
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Z Gallerie can tap cash
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Food/Drink:

Bruno's hangs big sale sign
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Pilgrim's Pride to dump more plants
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USA Springs isn't dead yet
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Judge gives USA Springs more time to save itself
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Fraud:

Stanford Receiver Has `Little Doubt' There Was a Ponzi Scheme
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Stanford girlfriend's Mom says CFO is to blame
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Stanford favors the doofus defense
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Stanford International to Liquidate, Receiver Says
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Stanford Antigua Bank Has 'substantial' Shortfall
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Why Should Rich Madoff Victims Get a Break?
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Madoff: The Britney Spears Connection?
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Prosecutor: Cosmo Case Losses Worse Than Expected
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Insurance:

Insurers May Be Downgraded By Moody's on Investments
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Zurich Financial to Buy AIG US Unit for $1.9B
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Allianz Follows Hartford, Principal in Seeking State Relief
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As D&O Coverage Falls, Plaintiffs Lawyers Fees at Risk
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Telecoms:

RIM Looks to Fill Jobs as Rivals Trim Payrolls in Recession
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Nokia says handset market to fall more
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Bankruptcy judge OKs $6 million in bonuses at HawTel
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Religion:

Street Preacher's Take on Finance Reform
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Economy:

Jobless Claims Fall, Housing Stabilizes
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Fed's Lockhart sees recession ending, upturn in Q3
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Recession still dragging down US economy
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Ultimate Bailout Guide
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Philadelphia Manufacturing Contracts at Slower Pace
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Harley, Polaris results hint consumer flight slows
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Real Estate:

No End Yet for Downturn in Housing, New Data Suggest
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Mortgage rates dip to near record lows
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Housing Construction Down 10.8 Percent in March
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Foreclosures 46% higher in March than year ago
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US Housing Starts Fall; Permits Drop to Record Low
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Arizona No. 2 for foreclosures
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Island foreclosures up 500 percent
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NY's home foreclosures drop 23% in 1Q
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Foreclosures continue rising in South Florida
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Ohio's 1Q foreclosures creep past '08
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Alabama foreclosures skyrocket in March
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US mortgage rates slide back near record lows
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Is commercial real estate a time bomb?
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Retail Real Estate Braces For Sell-Off
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US Office Vacancies Rise to Three-Year High, Cushman Says
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Has the Office Vacancy Rate Become Irrelevant?
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General Growth Properties' Bankruptcy Is a Boon for Commercial Real Estate
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First-Quarter Home Sales In Brooklyn, Queens, NY, Tumble
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San Francisco Area Home Prices Fall Record 46 Percent
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Judge weighs LandAmerica exchange company case
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The Foreclosed Are ‘Target Market’ for Some Landlords
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Foreclosure Freezes Failure
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Warehouse Vacancy Up Sharply as Industrial Demand Plummets
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JLS Custom Homes to liquidate inventory
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Banking:

Banks Balk at Selling Toxic Assets
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Banking Industry Showing Signs of a Recovery
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Dimon Says He's Eager to Repay ‘Scarlet Letter' TARP
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JPMorgan to Sell 10-Year Notes Without US Backing
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JPMorgan Takes $711 Million Writedown on High-Risk Legacy Loans
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JPMorgan, Goldman trading profits unlikely to last
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Citigroup Profit Exceeds Estimates on Trading, Accounting Rule
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Can Citigroup Be Restructured Without an FDIC Resolution?
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Goldman Sach's: 3 card monte
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Fed Shrouding $2 Trillion in Bank Loans in ‘Secrecy,' Suit Says
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US Aims to Release Bank Stress-Test Results May 4
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Regions Soars After CEO Cites Expected First-Quarter Profit
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BB&T Profit Falls 26% on Commercial Property Losses
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After the Bank Failure Comes the Debt Collector
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Corporate Reform:

Post-recession oversight will be tricky, Lockhart says
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SEC Settlements Rise 16% in Q1
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Newspapers:

AbitibiBowater to file for bankruptcy
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Abitibi investors urged to run away
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Former Abitibi workers fuming over potential severance loss
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Abitibi bankruptcy : Workers have done their part, gov't must step in
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USA Today owner's profits slump
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Times Will Cut Sections to Lower Costs
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Newspaper may file Chapter 11 reorganization
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U.S. Newspapers Shed 5,900 Jobs in 2008
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Big City Papers Continue Financial Freefall
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Horse Racing:

Magna Wants To Ante Up For Charity
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Accounting:

Accountants fretting about job losses
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Layoffs:

An interactive map of vanishing employment
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Nurse called out of surgery and laid off
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Wall Street loses 3100 jobs in March
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Harley-Davidson to Cut More Jobs as Profit Dips
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Sony Ericsson to cut 2,000 jobs after loss
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Facing Large Loss, Toshiba to Shed 3,900 Jobs
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Toshiba expects bigger loss, contract job cuts
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Finance Layoffs: UBS and MassMutual
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Arizona jobless rate rises to 7.8 percent in March
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Committees:

Considerations for Service on an Unsecured Creditor's Committee
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Financial Literacy:

Teens need debt driver's licenses
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Photography:

Polaroid Said to Draw $88.1 Million Patriarch Top Bid
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Hilco and Gordon Bros. Win Auction for Polaroid
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Some Camera and Film Finishers Hit Hard by Recession
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Apparel:

Apparel company Block Corp files for bankruptcy
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Waste:

Recycler for Fort Worth, other area cities files for Chapter 11
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Debt Collection:

Strong-Arm Distressed Debtors At Your Peril
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Convenience Stores:

Appalachian Oil to sell assets
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Theme Parks:

Six Flags suffers another blow as S&P cuts rating
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Dry Cleaning:

Dry spell for dry cleaners in down economy
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Resorts:

Montana's Double Diamond Crash
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Intrawest weighs asset sale
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Radio:

Most Equity Media stations sold at auction
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New Bankruptcy Opinions
(No new opinions today)

Bankruptcy Court Web/Pacer Site Directory

Chapter 7, 12 & 13 Private Trustee Locator
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Recent Ch. 11 Filings
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Bankruptcy Jobs:

(1)- (2)- (3)- (4)- (5)- (6)- (7)- (8)- (9)- (10)
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Bankruptcy Reform:

Mortgage Cram-Down Legislation is Faltering
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Autos:

GM preparing to make official bond exchange offer
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A Quick Bankruptcy for GM? Not So Fast
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History repeating itself with GM crisis
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The Battle for What's Left of GM Gets Meaner
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GM, Chrysler: Time's Wasting
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GM, Chrysler in line for more federal aid
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Save GM with bold trade stroke
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GM would require quick bankruptcy: judge
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Government says CAW must make concessions
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Clement Says Auto Workers Need New Pact in 2 Weeks
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Pattern deals no longer apply, Clement declares
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Bashing, getting bashed
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Chrysler Is Said to Be Near Deal on Retiree Health Care
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Chrysler will warn CAW ahead of talks
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Benefits may have cost Canadian autoworkers their advantage
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Is Ford's Refusal Of Bailout Money Going To Be A Decisive Advantage?
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UAW focusing on talks with Chrysler
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'We have to go faster and deeper'
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Unsure of Saturn’s Fate, Dealerships Are Closing
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Delphi must act fast on GM deal
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Delphi likely to miss bankruptcy deadline today
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Ford deal to sell ex-Visteon plant fails
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Survey: Public very aware of auto industry
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Firm Founded by Auto Task Force Chief Facing Inquiry
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Steven Rattner Told US About Pension Probe, Treasury Says
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Fiat chairman denies looking at Opel
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Saab Said to Attract Half a Dozen Serious Bidders
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Nissan Predicts 17% European Decline
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Chinese Auto Suppliers Squeezed by Global Car Slump
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Volkswagen First-Quarter Sales Fall 11%
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Mass Torts:

Of 900 W.Va. asbestos plaintiffs, two from the state
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Bill being pushed in Texas legislature would pull more defendants into asbestos litigation
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Oil/Gas:

Oil Industry Profits Expected Lowest in Years
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Examiner puts blame on Kivisto
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SemGroup CEO Trading Led to Bankruptcy, Examiner Says
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No-Loss Trading Strategy Doomed Oil Trader SemGroup
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SemGroup creditors to restart inquiries over banks
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Flying J to seek DIP boost
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Ethanol:

Court Gives Interim Approval to Aventine's DIP Financing
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Personal Finance:

Why Six-Figure Earners Don't Feel Rich
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Bonuses:

CEOs earn big bonuses for bad year
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Tax:

Judge Grants IRS Request on First Data Offshore Records
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Credit Cards:

Capital One sounds alert over surge in credit card loss rates
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Aviation:

Southwest Airlines posts loss
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Southwest to trim through buyouts as it reports loss
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Gambling:

Icahn, Oaktree Push for MGM Mirage Bankruptcy Filing
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Harrah's expands offer to buy back bonds
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PE:

Taleb calls PE a Ponzi scheme
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Labor:

PwC creates pay cut calculator
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Finance:

Study says bankruptcy can bring more loans
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Libor Caps Longest Falling Streak Since November on Bank Gains
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UK:

U.K. Pub Owners Face Rising Debt Tab
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1.2m businesses affected by late payments
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One in Six UK Homeowners Face Negative Equity
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EU:

ECB Prepares For New Measures
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Trichet sees need for balance
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European Exports to Main Partners Drop by a Quarter
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Canada:

Canada Factory Sales Rise for First Time Since July
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Ontario's economy likely to continue its struggle into 2010
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Caught in a wave of red ink
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Japan:

Japanese Stocks and Bonds Lose Appeal as Funds Exit
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China:

China Economy to Rebound as Stimulus Spurs Investment
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France:

France's CDC Posts First Loss Since Its Creation in 1816
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Liberia:

Liberia Cuts Commercial Debt
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Germany:

Lebedev's Blue Wings to Seek Bankruptcy on German License Loss
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Germany Gives Hypo Owners Until May 4 to Accept Takeover Offer
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Spain:

Spain's Bad-Loan Ratio Rises on Deepening Recession
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Please note that the Daily Bankruptcy News is primarily a news link gathering service.   This means that most of the headlines contained in the publication are a collection of links to stories posted on the Internet by various third party publications.  Such content is owned by third party sources, not the Daily Bankruptcy News, and in some cases, these links change or expire, which means you may not be able to view some news stories in prior editions of the Daily Bankruptcy News. The DBN subscription fee for access to certain links is not a fee for access to the content of the links, but is a charge for the considerable work involved in gathering, organizing and presenting the links. Use of this site and The Daily Bankruptcy News is subject to our Terms of Use.If you received the Daily Bankruptcy News via email (and you have a paid subscription account), to view a news story, click on the headline, and the story should open in your web browser. To view additional stories, click back to the email and click on additional headlines, which will cause new stories to open in your web browser.  You can view the Daily Bankruptcy News on the web by clicking here, or by going to BKINFORMATION.COM and clicking on the Bankruptcy News button.  Note that the Daily Bankruptcy News is distributed via "HTML email" in which the links to the news stories are embedded in the headlines.  The email you receive should look like a 3-column newspaper, with headlines for each story. If you receive the Daily Bankruptcy News by email and the copy you receive is not formatted like a 3-column newspaper, or does not seem to contain links to the news stories, you may have an email client that is not capable of receiving HTML email, or is not configured to display such email.  You can however, receive a daily email notifying you when the Daily Bankruptcy News is updated on the web site. If you would like to receive such an email, please let us know at admin@bkinformation.com.You can search the headlines from prior editions of the Daily Bankruptcy News by clicking here.

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