Bankruptcy Blogs

Coming and Going Concerns

03/12/15

Jones Day will open a permanent office in Detroit this July. The law firm, which represented the city in its chapter 9 bankruptcy case, will be headed by Timothy J. Melton, David Rutkowski and Jeff Jones. Mr. Melton will be partner in charge, while Mr. Rutkowski and Mr. Jones will serve as administrative partner and head of litigation, respectively.

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The Fed Should Champion and Lead Faster Payments Push

03/12/15

There is a leadership void in payments innovation. The Fed has the ability and the historic precedent to take up the mantle.

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Exide’s Stand on Human Bondholders to be Tested

03/12/15

By trade, James Reise is an excavator who works for developers mostly in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Bankruptcy investing is a sideline, and he’s had some luck with it—until recently.

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The Daily Docket: Standard Register Files for Chapter 11

03/12/15

Standard Register Co . on Thursday filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection, with a $275 million buyout offer from some of its top-ranking lenders. The Wall Street Journal has the Daily Bankruptcy Review article here.

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Morning Scan: Muddling Through Stress Tests; Do Big Banks Need Fresh Blood?

03/12/15

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Stress Test Wrap: All 31 of the biggest U.S. banks managed to pass the Fed's stress tests this year, but for four of them it was less a "flying colors" sort of victory and more about muddling through. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley received approval for their capital-payout plans only after adjusting them to ensure their capital ratios stayed above minimum requirements. Bank of America got conditional approval to go...

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Dysfunctional Analysis Part 1

03/11/15

Warning: Grumpy Alert. I am grumpy because the ABI Commission’s recent report rejected any reform of the bizarre American approach to executory contracts, which requires a quality of “executoriness” in a contract before it can be assumed or rejected. (Think of Stephen Colbert and “truthiness.”) Worse still, it recommended codifying the Countryman test, which was a great advance in its day but has been rendered hopelessly outdated by statutory changes and modern contract practices—e.g. in options and LLC memberships.

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As Oil Prices Fall, Oil & Gas Bankruptcies Rise

03/11/15
While a new report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts shows a 46% decline in chapter 11 filings from 2010 to 2014, there appears to be an uptick in energy related filings, especially by Texas-based companies.
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U.S. Housing Policies Should Reflect Millennials' Post-Crisis Reality

03/11/15

Policymakers should stop assuming that homeownership is always better than renting and recognize the economic circumstances that young people will live with for the foreseeable future.

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How Simpler Regulation Can Help Banks Meet More Credit Needs

03/11/15

Small-business lending will be crucial to the future of the American economy. But community banks' ability to make loans to friends and neighbors they know depends in part on a supportive regulatory environment.

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The Daily Docket: Energy Future Approved to Pay off up to $750 Million in Debt

03/11/15

Energy Future Holdings Corp. won court permission to pay down as much as $750 million of a $2.15 billion bond issue, a move that will save $66 million in interest this year. The Wall Street Journal has the Daily Bankruptcy Review article here.

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