| TOUSA considers bankruptcy on Q3 plunge
TOUSA said it is considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after reporting a deep third quarter loss. "Based on the foregoing, the company believes there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," the Hollywood-based home builder said in a news release. It said it is considering all available in- and out-of-court restructuring and reorganization alternatives, "including a possible Chapter 11 filing." TOUSA said it lost $619.7 million, or $10.43 a share, on revenue of $501.2 million. In the year-ago quarter, the company said it lost $80 million, or $1.34 a share, on revenue of $596.7 million. The recent loss includes $504.5 million in pre-tax inventory impairment and abandonment costs, $2.7 million in pre-tax goodwill impairments and a $40.7 million pre-tax loss contingency relating to the Transeastern JV settlement.
The combined library system will be a
$1.2B Outstanding GOs 09/11/2007 21:16:00 Business Wire US0934421019 Fitch Ratings has assigned an AAA rating to the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota s (the city) $5,400,000 general obligation (GO) improvement bonds, series 2007.
Fitch has also affirmed the long-term AAA rating on $1.2 billion of outstanding GO debt.
The Rating Outlook is Stable.
The bonds will sell competitively on Nov.
14, 2007, with Springsted Inc.
serving as financial advisor.
The city pledges its full faith and credit and unlimited ad valorem taxes in repaying the bonds, but special assessment payments are expected to be the primary source of debt repayment.
The city s AAA rating reflects a broad economy having limited volatility, strong and consistent budgetary performance, ample financial flexibility and moderate tax-supported debt levels.
Pope & Talbot to auction assets
Pope & Talbot Inc. will auction all of its remaining assets in January, according to court papers filed late Monday, meaning the 158-year-old company may cease to exist early next year. The struggling Portland-based wood products company (Pink Sheets: PTBT) filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Monday. It was a mirror filing of a Chapter 11-type filing the company made in Canada three weeks ago. The agreement to auction its remaining assets is a condition of an $89 million debtor-in-possession financing agreement the company secured to help it avoid a sudden liquidation. Pope & Talbot needs to sell all of its assets by Feb. 15 in order to be in compliance with the loan. The company only has $4 million in cash, which it needs for payroll and purchasing goods.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-20 12:25 GMT: Vocento to focus on press operations, internet in Spain until 2010
MADRID (Thomson Financial) - Vocento SA will focus on its press and internet businesses in Spain, aiming to become a leading player in the free press segment, until 2010, CEO Belarmino Garcia said. The media group is also "open to selective international expansion," he said in a presentation on the restructuring of the group's organisation to the investment community. With regard to television, Garcia said Vocento will "explore" the possibility of taking on partners who can complete their offer and provide content. Vocento's restructured business lines are divided up by the local market, which includes press, websites, local television, the national market, including the ABC daily and new markets, including free newspaper Que. The company will provide an update on the business plans for each division in January, Garcia said.
Government subsidies to business double to $19 billion in 10 years
VANCOUVER - A private research report says government handouts to Canadian business have almost doubled in the past decade. The Fraser Institute says Canadians provided business with $19 billion in subsidies in 2004, the most recent year for which data is available - the group says that is the equivalent of $1,295 from each taxpayer. Fraser says in 1995, government subsidies to business totalled $10.3 billion. Mark Milke, author of "Corporate Welfare, a $144 Billion Addiction" says, governments justify the subsidies by claiming they help start-up companies - but he says the largest subsidies are anything but startups. The report says among the top 50 business subsidy recipients are well-established companies that include Ford, Rolls-Royce, Noranda, IBM, General Dynamics, Pratt & Whitney, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Supreme Court dismisses suit against board
The state Supreme Court has dismissed a suit brought by a grassroots group that challenged the makeup of the powerful state Budget and Control Board as unconstitutional, according to court documents provided to The Post and Courier on Monday. At issue was state lawmakers electing one of their own, Converse Chellis, as treasurer and thus to a post on the board that oversees billions in government spending. Chellis resigned from the Legislature after he was tapped for the post in August. He was elected treasurer to replace Thomas Ravenel, who left the office a month earlier following his indictment on a federal cocaine charge. Ravenel pleaded guilty in September and is awaiting sentencing. The treasurer, usually picked by voters, sits on the five-member budget board with the governor, comptroller general and the chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.
Stocks Waver on Concerns About Consumer
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street fluctuated Thursday as investors grappled with concerns about the strength of consumer spending but were also cheered by data showing companies might be having an easier time winning financing for short-term debt. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in October on high energy and foods costs, in line with September's increase and analysts' forecast. Investors are concerned that rising inflation — especially due to higher fuel prices — could move consumers to cut back their overall spending and also prevent the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates further in the coming months. In addition, the market for U.S. short-term corporate debt known as commercial paper decreased by $3.6 billion in the week ended Wednesday, well below the $15.6 billion contraction seen a week earlier.
Bangkok Transit Authority to lay off 6,000 bus staff
File photo shows a Thai woman looking out a bus window in Bangkok. The state-run Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMA) announced Monday that one-third of its staff, or 6,000 people, would be laid off under a restructuring plan aimed at cutting huge losses. .
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