Fairpoint, the telephone company that took over much of the phone system in New England from Verizon, is in financial trouble, according to the Nashua NH Newspaper.
Fairpoint is asking for their bondholders to delay repayment, and indicating that one of the possible alternatives could be bankruptcy.
Lear makes seating systems for automobiles. When I was working for Buick, Lear had a very advanced “just in time” system that delivered the seats in sequence to match the cars, and robots did the unloading of the seats. Lear has announced they will be filing chapter 11 next week.
Eastwind Maritime is a significant shipping company based in New York. They own a fleet of a variety of cargo ships. They have filed for Chapter 7, which is immediate liquidation, not reorganization.
Meanwhile, Bloombama News Service says things are looking up since things are not falling as fast as they could be.
Another major advertiser on radio is preparing to file bankruptcy – the company that owned Tahiti Village, that “resort community” in Vegas giving away “free vacations” that was really selling people Time Shares… In fact, some of my earliest “polls” were about this company’s misleading ads. I wonder how Roseanne Barr feels today about her role.
Red Roof Inns has defaulted on $367 million in mortgage debt. They aren’t yet filing for bankruptcy, but that’s pretty likely. CitiGroup led the buyout of the company in 2007.
The company who counsels people on how to “get out of debt” has filed chapter 11. One news account mentions that the company is currently under investigation by the Attorney General. Expect that Dave Ramsey will have a LOT to say about this today. Debt Relief USA had advertised extensively on talk radio.
http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,5426814_94800056_135944239,00.html
Speciality clothing retailer Eddie Bauer filed Chapter 11 today. Eddie Bauer had previously been through bankruptcy in 2003. A buyout firm has made an offer to buy the company, and is urging the bankruptcy court to hold a quick auction to determine if any other firm is willing to pay more.
Extended Stay hotels, which operates 680 properties that cater to business people working away from home has filed chapter 11. Wachovia, Bank of America and Bear Sterns are each on the hook for about $1 billion each. Extended Stay employs about 10,000 people.
If you have a life insurance policy or an annuity with Lincoln Financial (or formerly Jefferson Pilot Insurance), you need to be paying attention and asking some questions of your state’s Insurance Commissioner.
Lincoln announced today that it is raising capital, including taking TARP funds. Lincoln is publicly traded and the stock dropped like a rock last September. The only plausible explanation for raising capital is they are facing questions about the solvency of their insurance funds.
Lincoln also happens to own 15 radio stations, but that’s secondary to the news today. They are a tiny portion of the assets of the company – last year, the wrote down the value of their Radio licenses by about $200 million.
Poking around in their 10-Q from March, the large majority of their assets are invested in Corporate bonds (think GM or Chrysler, perhaps). They also have significant investments in residential and commerical mortgages (the really safe stuff that you can never lose money on because real estate always goes up). Very little of their money is in government bonds.
In January 2009, Lincoln “purchased” a tiny Savings and Loan so that the company could qualify as a Savings and Loan and be eligible to particpate in TARP.
Lincoln’s stock symbol is LNC – the stock has dropped 7.2% today.
Six Flags has filed Chapter 11. This bankruptcy has widely been predicted since last summer when the $4+/gallon which resulted in large drops in attendance. The economic downturn hasn’t helped the situation. For now, the parks will stay open.