Bankruptcy Blogs

The Daily Docket: Judge Says Stockton Can Make Creditor Deals Without Approval

01/31/13

Attorneys who are steering struggling Stockton, Calif., through bankruptcy got the power to negotiate deals with creditors with far more secrecy than the usual bankruptcy case. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review article here.

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Economy Contracts; Fed Stays Put

01/31/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Economy Contracts: Private-sector demand was strong, but businesses reined in inventories and defense spending plummeted, leading to a surprise 0.1% contraction in economic activity in the fourth quarter, according to the Commerce Department's first estimate. The Journal said analysts pinned the plunge in military spending on factors like the drawdown in Afghanistan and worries that more reductions are coming. The Post said government agencies "began adopting contingency plans, instituted hiring freezes and...

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Why So Much Affection for Shadow Banking?

01/31/13

Confining banks to "narrow" or "traditional" activities, as some policymakers and pundits advocate, would drive even more customers to the shadow sector. Do we really want shadow banks to own the financial future?

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Can the Payday Loan Be Reinvented?

01/30/13

Several tech startups have made short-term credit the focus of their business models. But could a product so universally frowned upon ever achieve mainstream acceptance?

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Kodak Stars in Best Picture Nominees

01/30/13
European Pressphoto Agency
Ben Affleck (front) holds up the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for “Argo” at the Screen Actors
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Baseball Contract Liabilities: A-Rod?

01/30/13

It's with a bit of Schadenfreude that a White Sox fan like me reads about the NY Yankees being straddled with A-Rod's bloated contract. (Remember, A-Rod was one of the largest unsecured creditors of the Texas Rangers.) But I can't help but wonder if there isn't a legal out for the Yankees. 

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Meredith Whitney on How to Bring Investors Back to Bank Stocks

01/30/13

Big banks must get smaller. Small banks must get bigger. All banks must turn their attention away from crisis-era baggage and show how they'll consistently make money from now on.

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The Daily Docket: Hostess Nears Twinkie Sale Deal

01/30/13
Associated Press
Artist Nancy Peppin holds one of her creations from her series “Day of the Dead Twinkies,” one of dozens of pieces of art she has created over the years using Twinkies and ot
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Jefferies CEO's Big Payday; Bond Losses? Fed Should Be So Lucky

01/30/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Big Payday: The best-paid financial-services CEO in 2012 was not Lloyd Blankfein or Jamie Dimon but Richard Handler, of the lesser-known investment bank Jefferies Group. He took home $45 million (or $58 million if you count shares he received) after making a deal to sell Jefferies to the industrial smorgasbord Leucadia National, which he'll run. The Journal's story is meaty, highlighting the board's use of peer comparisons in determining Handler's compensation after...

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