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[Commentary] © 2003 Philip Hyde, The Timesizing Wire™, Box 622 Cambridge MA 02143 USA (617) 623-8080

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Bankruptcies, May-August/2003

8/27/2003  1 bankruptcy mentioned in (WSJ) Wall Street Journal & (NYT) New York Times -

1. Anchor Glass plans initial public offering, Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
   The Anchor Glass Container Corp...plan[s] to raise $143.8m in an IPO after being bought out of bankruptcy by Cerberus Capital Management....
   [How apt - wasn't Cerberus the 9-headed dog that guarded the gates of hades? We never caught Anchor (pun) before, so we're hoisting oops counting it now.]

1. Bankruptcy plan by DVI Inc., a healthcare finance company, Reuters via NYT, C4.
   ...to reorg.... [prob. Ch.11]
   [Confirmed, with added names, by followup -]
   DVI Inc., DVI Financial Services Inc., DVI Business Credit Corp...Chapter 11, legal notice, 9/30/2003 WSJ, B11.

2. Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia S.A...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B4.
   [This is here bundled with Avianca as jointly administered, but we caught Avianca on 3/22-24/2003 #3.]

• LTWC Corp. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B7.

• ACES SA - [Colombia's #2 airline's] shareholder[s] will liquidate, rather than seek bankruptcy, Dow Jones via WSJ, B2.

• Ideal Mutual Insurance Co...liquidation, legal notice, NYT, C2.

• Bankruptcy filings increase to a record, Bloomberg via NYT, C2 (//WSJ, B6).
  [Actually TWO records. Such important news, but it isn't blurbed in the Business Digest on C1 and it's not even in the Business Day section of the News Summary on A2. The New York Times has become such a desperate happytalker that it is irresponsible. Jason Blair was just the tip of the iceberg. Same syndrome in the Wall Street Journal - zip/zilch/nada about this in What's News on the front page. Pathetic self-destructs!]
  
  1. Bankruptcy filings by consumers soared to a record 1.61 million in the [fiscal] year that ended on June 30, as unemployment touched a 9-year high, court records show. Filings [by consumers] increased 30% over 2000, the Administrative Office of the US Courts said....
  2. Business appeals for relief from creditors dropped [5.15%] to 37,182, from 39,201 in 2002 [whoopeedoo]. The total of personal and business filings, 1.65 million, \however,\ is also a record for any 12-month period....
  [Sharper info, fuzzier headline in the Journal -]
  Bankruptcy filings [overall] in federal courts show 9.6% increase, WSJ, B6.
  ...In statistics released yesterday, bankruptcy filings far surpassed last year's 12-month record of 1.5m filings. The increase is due exclusively to a jump in nonbusiness bankruptcies.
  [No matter. If consumers are in this much trouble, business will not be far behind.]
  There was a 10% increase in nonbusiness numbers over the 2002 numbers. The 1.61m...is a new record, exceeding 2002's 1.4666m.
  Mark Zandi, chief economist for Economy.com, a Westchester PA economic-research firm, said the jump in personal bankruptcies is a function of the financial strain that many individuals are facing in the recent economic slowdown. He also noted that these filings were up in areas such as the South where housing values have been stagnant, leaving homeowners there without the advantage of refinancing, cashing out and paying off debt....
  [Good. Now maybe the South won't vote for Bush in 2004.]

1. 8/16   Clift Hotel in San Francisco files for [Chapter 11] bankruptcy, NYT, C2.

2. 8/18   Bankruptcy filing is made by Horizon PCS Inc. affiliate, WSJ, B6.
   An affiliate of Sprint Corp's PCS Group, Horizon PCS Inc., along with two subsidiaries [unnamed], filed for Chapter 11....

3. 8/18   Petroleum Geo-Services ASA...Chapter 11, legal case, WSJ, B6.

1. Crystalane Inc. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6 (//NYT, C2).
   [This list includes LTV Steel, which we caught on 12/30/2000 #1.]

2. Legion Insurance Co. and Villanova Insurance Co...liquidation, legal notice, WSJ, B6.

• RSL Com Primecall Inc & RSL Com U.S.A. Inc...Chapter 11, legal notice, NYT, C7.

1. Penthouse Magazine's publisher files for bankruptcy, Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
   General Media Inc., the publisher...based in NYC..\..filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan..\..yesterday after competition from other outlets left the company unable to pay its creditors.... General Media, a unit of Penthouse International [which] did not file..\..is 85% owned by Bob Guccione, who founded Penthouse in 1965....
   [Followup with associated names -]
   ...General Media Entertainment/Communications/Art Holding/(UK) Inc/Ltd, GMCI Internet Operations Inc, GMI On-Line Ventures Ltd, Penthouse Images Acquisitions Ltd, [!]Pure Entertainment Telecommunications Inc, [justaposed] Chapter 11, 12/15/2003 NYT, C6.

2. Epic Capital Corp. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B9.

3. Actrade Financial Technologies Ltd., et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B9.

• Chart Industries Inc. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B7 (//NYT C2).

• Philip Services Corp. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6.

• SHC Inc, et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B8 (//NYT C6).

• Superior TeleCom Inc. et al....Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B4 (//NYT C5).

• First Consumers National Bank will refund credit-card fees, Dow Jones via WSJ, B6.
  ...In March, the bank stopped accepting charges on the credit cards because it was being liquidated under a consent order with the comptroller's office, a regulatory body within the Treasury Dept....

1. UPC Polska Inc...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, C5.
   [Compare UPC in general, 12/04/2002.]

2. StorageNetworks to liquidate, by Charles Forelle, WSJ, B5.
   ...Waltham, Mass....

• Friede Goldman Halter Inc. [et multi multi! alii]...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B7.

• HQ Global Holdings Inc...et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6 (//7/28 NYT, C4).

1. James Cable Partners LP/James Cable Finance Corp...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B5 (//NYT C4).

2. Creditors to seek receivership for Korean trading company [SK Global, originally South Korean Global?], by Don Kirk, NYT, C11.

1. Seitel Inc. - Chapter 11 bankruptcy is filed with funding from Berkshire Hathaway, Dow Jones via WSJ, D7. [Hmm, Seitel (German for 'little side', originally Seitelein, cognate 'sideling') goes bust and Siebel (German for 'little sieve', originally Siebelein, cognate 'sieveling') downsizes, both on the same day, 7/23/2003.]

2. Prime Succession Inc. et al... Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B11.

• 7/19 Medical woes pushing more into red...over the financial edge, by Kimberly Blanton, Boston Globe, front page & A16.
  ...as record numbers of Americans file into US Bankruptcy Court.... Several developments [that] have worked together in recent years to raise the pressure on medical debtors includ[e -]
  • higher drug prices,
  • cutbacks in benefits and in Medicaid,
  • and a reliance on credit cards to procure treatment.
  • The economic slump is driving up the number of people who become vulnerable to financial disaster when illness strikes.... The bad economy is to blame for a 1.3m rise nationwide in people who lost their health insurance in 2001, in the wake of the stock market collapse..\..
  • Premiums are going up....
  Last year, US bankruptcy filings by individuals were 1.57m, the highest on record..\..
  US [personal] bankruptcies..., chart by Globe staff, Boston Globe, A16.
  '97 1.35m, 98 1.41, 99 1.28, 00 1.22, 01 1.45, '02 1.57m
  Source[s]: American Bankruptcy Institute and Administrative Office of the US Courts

• 7/21 German corporate bankruptcies set a record, by David Scheer, WSJ, A9.
  ...in April as more small and midsize companies succumbed to a three-year economic slump. Some 3,610 corporations declared themselves insolvent - the highest monthly number since Germany's statistics office began tracking the data in 1950.
  The failures rose 8% from the same month last year, in a trend that is taking a ruthless toll on Germany's smaller firms - its famed Mittelstand. The 3.3m medium-size firms employ 70% of the country's workforce and account for more than half of its economic output....
  [Three little words - CUT THE WORKWEEK,
  because as I.H. Harrison, president of the National Chamber of Commerce/USA said in the depths of the Great Depression, "It is better for all of us to be at work some of the time than for some of us to be at work all of the time while others are not at work at all." (8/14/1932 NYT, front page). Not to mention the boost that would give to bedrock consumer markets and domestic demand.]
  About 37,600 German companies filed for bankruptcy in 2002.... From Jan. to April [this year], 13,357 corporations [filed], 9% more than in the same period last year [- including] KirchMedia... Philipp Holzmann... Grundig.... "It's like a domino effect - when the larger ones go..., then the smaller ones follow," said Wolfgang Liebernickel of the German Assoc. of Small to Medium-Sized Businesses.
  Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government has proposed a raft of measures....
  [Schroeder doesn't know jack-Scheiss now that he's interrupted workweek reduction in east Germany.]

1. 7/21 Magnatrax Corp. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B4.
   [Wonder if this is the outfit that makes the magnatraction® for Lionel trains.]

1. Earthcare Co. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B5.

2. Vanderveer Estates Holding LLC...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B5.

3. Lisanti Foods (of Texas/Arizona) Inc...Chapter 11, legal notice, NYT, C2.

4. Kleinert's Inc. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, NYT, C6.

• As satellite orders slump, Chapter 11 filing by Loral [Space & Communications - Sets asset sale to Intelsat (WSJ)]..., by Barnaby Feder, NYT, C1 (//WSJ A3).
  ..."People believed they were going out of business and no one was willing to place an order with them," said Roger Rusch, the president of TelAstra, a consulting and market research firm.... Loral said the deal with Intelsat would allow it to repay all $959m in secured debt to its banks....

• Mirant [Corp. merchant energy] seeks Chapter 11 protection, by Jonathan Friedland, WSJ, A6 (//NYT C1>C10, //WSJ 7/16 A8).

1. NOW Communications Inc...Chapter 11, WSJ, B5.
2. Eagle Food Centers Inc, et al...Chapter 11, WSJ, B5.
3. InterBank Funding Corp, IBF VI -SL, IBF CF, IBF PHG...Chapter 11, WSJ, B5.
4. Maxxim Medical Group Inc, et al...Chapter 11, WSJ, B5.
5. Weatherly Securities Corp...SIPA liquidation, WSJ, B5 (//NYT, C6).

• PG&E's wholesale energy unit, PG&E National Energy Group...Chapter 11, WSJ, B2.
  [New name: National Energy & Gas Transmission Inc., 11/13/2003 WSJ, A12 ("PG&E Corp. - Third-quarter net rose 9.4% as revenue posted solid gain")]

1. General Datacomm Industries Inc. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B8.
2. Argus Systems Group Inc..., legal notice, WSJ, B8.

1. 7/7 Biotransplant Inc. and Eligix Inc...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, A14.
2. 7/7 Headway Corporate Resources Inc...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, A14.
3. 7/7 Insite Services Corp...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, A14.
4. 7/7 Ogden-New York Services Inc. et al...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, A14.
5. 7/05 Australia seeks criminal case in major corporate collapse, Dow Jones via WSJ, C11.
   Prosecutors will seek to pursue a criminal case relating to the Austral.$5.3B ($3.6B) collapse of
   HIH Insurance Ltd. Treasurer Peter Costello and Atty. Gen. Daryl Williams said criminal proceedings will be pursued under the Corporations Act and the Crimes Act of New South Wales. A royal commission probe attributed the collapse to a failure to properly provide for future claims, mismanagement and an inadequate response to pressures in international-insurance markets. Royal Commissioner Neville Owen cited 56 possible breaches of corporations law by 20 individuals or parties, including HIH CEO Ray Williams and director Rodney Adler, who sold FAI Insurance to HIH for about A$300m....

1. Aurora Foods [St. Louis] plans to file for protection, Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
   ...about $400m in bond debt....

2. Pameco Corp...Chapter 11, NYT, C5.

1. National Equipment Services/Rental, NYT, C6.
   [Associated names, as of 9/11/2003 WSJ, C9 -]
   Rebel Studio Rentals Inc.
   NES Shoring Acquisition Corp.
   NES Mgmt Service Corp.
   Falconite Inc.
   NES Indiana Partners
   NES Cos. LP
   NES Traffic Safety LP
   
2. Crown Pacific Partners, NYT, C6.
3. Top-Flite files for Chapter 11..., by Mitchell Pacelle, WSJ, C5.
4. ...Pacific Gas & Electric Co....Chapter 11, WSJ, B9 & NYT, C5.
5. ...RHC/Spacemaster Corp., Morgan Marshall Industries Inc., Goer Manufacturing Co. Inc., Discovery Plastics Inc., Spartan Showcase Inc....Chapter 11, WSJ, B9.
6. Ace Office Cleaning Corp, et al., NYT, C8.
7. Booza Realty Corp. et al., NYT, C8.
8. Worldcom et multissimi alii, NYT, C5 & WSJ, B9.

1. Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York - In re:
   Acterna Corp. [fiberoptic network testing, Germantown MD], et al., debtors - Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6 [cf. 8/29/2003 NYT C3].

2. In the matter of the liquidation of:
   The Great Western "Marine" Insurance Co.,
   Pacific/Mercantile/New York/Commercial/Union/Sun/Orient Mutual Insurance Co.
   Kings County [NY] Supreme Court..., legal notice, NYT, C10.

1. Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York - In re:
   Globe Metallurgical Inc., debtor - Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B4.

2. Bankruptcies - In the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida - In re:
   Cybervest Securities Inc., debtor - under the Securities Investor Protection Act, legal notice, WSJ, B4.

• Notice of liquidation - The Home Insurance Co. [and] US International Reinsurance Co., legal notice, NYT, C7.
  ...Claim filing deadline: June 13, 2004...[in] the Superior Court for Merrimack County, New Hampshire.... The liquidation of The Home [and USI Re] includes the liquidation of other companies that were previously merged into The Home:
  • The Home Indemnity Co.
  • The Home Insurance Co. of Indiana
  • City Insurance Co.
  • Home Lloyds Insurance Co. of Texas
  • The Home Insurance Co. of Illinois
  • and The Home Insurance Co. of Wisconsin
  [How many of these could have survived if they hadn't been "previously merged into The (collapsing) Home"?]

• Japan: Hotel operator seeks protection, by Ken Belson, NYT, W1.
  The Aoki Urban Development Corp., which runs the Westin Hotel Osaka, has filed for protection from creditors, according to Teikoku Databank, a credit research agency. The privately held developer had liabilities worth ¥31.5 billion ($267m), about 5 times its income. The Westin Osaka has suffered from a downturn in the travel industry and the economy generally, the agency said.
  [Compare the Aoki Corp. simple, which "floated to the surface of the carp pond, bellyup" on 12/07/2001 #1.]

1. In the matter of the liquidation of: Long Island Insurance Co., Kings County [NY] Supreme Court..., legal notice, NYT, C10.

2. In the matter of the liquidation of: Consolidated Mutual Insurance Co., Kings County [NY] Supreme Court..., legal notice, NYT, C11.

1. 6/21 U-Haul's parent seeks bankruptcy protection, Reuters via NYT, B5.
   Amerco Inc. [filed] its Chapter 11 petition...in Reno, Nev., where it is based. ...The filing did NOT INCLUDE several Amerco units, including U-Haul, the Oxford Life Insurance Co. and the Republic Western Insurance Co.

2. 6/21 Touch America Holdings Inc. files Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers, Bloomberg via NYT, B5.
   ...Owner of a 21,000-mile fiber optic network...based in Butte, Mont. \was\ spun off from the Montana Power Co. in 2000. ...Papers...were filed Thursday...Wilmington, Del.
   [Associated names: Entech LLC, Sierra Touch America LLC, American Fiber Touch LLC, from legal notice, 11/14/2003, WSJ, B6.]

3. 6/23 Worth Magazine to be acquired for $2.4m, plus liabilities, WSJ, A7.
   ...CurtCo Media Group...of Malibu CA acquired Worth from bankruptcy court after its New York-based publisher, Worth Media LLC, sought Chapter 11 protection....

4. 6/23 Bankruptcies - In the US Bankruptcy Court, Central District of Illinois - In re:
   • Fleming Packaging [fp] Corp., a Delaware corporation, debtor
   • fp Label Co. Inc., a California corporation, debtor
   • fp Estate Inc., a California corporation, debtor
   Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B8.

• Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court, District of Massachusetts, Eastern Division - In re:
  Divine Inc., et al., debtors - Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B5.

• German leaders approve economic 'reforms' [our quotes], by Tony Czuczka, AP 06/18/03 14:22 EDT via AOLNews.
  BERLIN - Nearly 10,000 German businesses have failed in the first quarter of this year, official data showed Wednesday. Meanwhile, the government sent parliament an economic "reform" bill [our quotes] meant to combat stubbornly high unemployment.
  With Germany in the third year of an economic slump, the 9,747 bankruptcies were the 2nd-highest quarterly total ever recorded, the federal statistics agency said. About 100 more businesses failed in last year's third quarter....
  [And Germany in the tenth year of tanking retail - check out our headlines from hell today, 6/19/2003 #5.]

• Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing made amid stiff competition, Dow Jones via WSJ, D4.
  Read-Rite Corp. filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The Fremont CA company, founded in 1981, makes magnetic recording heads for hard drives and tape drives. The market is characterized by fierce competition and rapid shifts to new generations of disk drives.... Under Chapter 7, a company liquidates its assets rather than reorganizes..\.. Cyril Yansouni, [Read-Rite]'s chairman, said the board exhausted all alternatives to preserve shareholder value and fulfill obligations to creditors and employees before deciding on the [liquidation].... Read-Rite employs about about 1,000 people, although it furloughed 60% of its US workforce in December....

• Bankruptcies - U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division - In the matter of:
  Union Financial Services Inc., Outsourcing Solutions Inc. [OSI]..., OSI Portfolio/Support/Collection/Outsourcing Services (International) Inc..\., RWC Consulting Group LLC, Greystone Business Group LLC, Coast to Coast Consulting LLC, PAE Leasing LLC, Pacific Software Consulting LLC, University Accounting Service LLC, North Shore Agency Inc..., Perimeter Credit LLC, Gufl State Credit LLC, Jennifer Loomis & Assocs Inc, Asset Recovery & Mgmt Corp, Grable Greiner & Wolfe Inc, Indiana Mutual Credit Assoc Inc, Qualink Inc, Professional Recoveries Inc, Payco American International Corp, The Union Corp, Transworld Systems Inc, American Recovery Co Inc, CSN Corp, General Connector Corp, UCO-MBA Corp, UCO Properties Inc, Union-Specialty Steel Casting Corp., debtors, In proceedings under Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6.

1. Bankruptcies - In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware - In re:
   Orion Refining Corp., debtor, Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B5.

2. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division - In re:
   Mosaic Corp. (US) Inc., et al., debtors, jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B5.

• FastNet Corp., NYT, C4.
  ...Bethlehem, Pa., a provider of Internet service to businesses in the northeastern U.S., filed for bankruptcy after losing money every quarter since first selling to the public in February 2000.

• Notice of bankruptcy claims deadline - In the US Bankruptcy Court for the district of Delaware - In re:
  Essential Therapies Inc., et al., debtors, Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B7.
  [So what's the deadline? Apparently July 11 for non-gov't entities and Hallowe'en for gov't entities, though why gov't should get a 3½-month stay is more than we can fathom.]

1. Bankruptcies - ...US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York - In re:
   Remee Products Corp., debtor, Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B11.

2. In the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division - In re:
   Longview Aluminum LLC, debtor, Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B11.

1. Bankruptcies - In the US Bankruptcy Court for the northern district of Georgia, Atlanta division - In re:
   Centennial Healthcare Corp., et al., debtors, Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B8.

2. In the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware - In re:
   Mobile Tool International Inc., et al..., debtors, Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B8.
   

1. Canada: Steel maker in bankruptcy, by Bernard Simon, NYT, W1.
   Slater Steel Inc., a specialty steelmaker in Mississauga, Ont., filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada, citing weak demand, sliding prices and rising costs. ...Operations at 4 minimills in Canada and at 2 others in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Lemont, Ill., would not be affected.
   [All the more contrastive glory to timesizing Nucor Steel of Charlotte, NC.]

1. 6/02 WestPoint Stevens Inc. makes Chapter 11 filing, by Mitchell Pacelle, WSJ, B2.
   ...joining the raft of textile makers forced to restructure because of overseas competition and excessive debt.... The WestPoint, Ga., company, which traces its roots to the 19th century, has been financially ailing for months.... One of the nation's largest makers of sheets and towels, it has been hit with declining sales while staggering under $1.8B of debt.
   The Chapter 11 filing, made electronically in Manhattan federal court, represents the old-line firm's second trip to federal bankruptcy court in 11 years, joining Malden Mills Industries Inc. as one of the beleaguered industry's two-time failures. During the past two years, textile makers Guilford Mills Inc. and Burlington Industries Inc. also have resorted to Chapter 11 filings to restructure their debts.
   The American textile industry has been struggling to contend with an onslaught of low-priced imports, while facing vexing questions about how much production to move offshore and how much to spend to modernize aging U.S. plants....

2. 5/31 Penn Traffic is back in bankruptcy court, AP via NYT, B4.
   ...Operat[or of] grocery stores in 6 states filed for bankruptcy...yesterday for the 2nd time in 4 years....
   [Missed the first one.]
   The company, based in Syracuse, filed Chapter 11 papers in US District Court in White Plains.... The company's 212 stores will continue to operate....
   [Followup: 9/23/2003 WSJ, B7, lists other names associated with this bankruptcy -
   Pennway Express, Penny Curtis Baking Co, P & C Food Markets of Vermont, Big M Supermarkets, Bradford Supermarkets, Commander Foods, Dairy Dell, Big Bear Distribution Co, Sunrise Properties, Abbott Realty, P.T. Development, PT Fayetteville/Utica.]

3. 6/02 Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court, District of Columbia - In re:
   Capitol Hill Community Hospital d/b/a Medlink Hospital at Capitol Hill, Capitol Hill Healthcare Group d/b/a Capitol Hill Nursing Center, BHS Management Inc., debtors, Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6.

1. Video game company files for bankruptcy, Dow Jones/AP via NYT, C5.
   The 3DO Company's struggle to stay viable has ended with a filing for bankruptcy protection. The company [will] sell the entire company or its assets. Its titles include High Heat Major League Baseball and Army Men.... In the 9 months ended Dec. 31...the operating loss narrowed to $8.3m from $42.3m a year ago \but\ revenue declined to $20m from $38.4m a year earlier....

2. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Ohio - In re:
   Pittsburgh-Canfield Corp., et al., debtors - Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, NYT, C2.

3. Bankruptcies - In the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware - In re:
   Zenith Industrial Corp., debtor, Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B7.
   [We're assuming this is different from Zenith Electronics Corp. which floated to the top of the fishbowl on 8/24/1999 #2.]

1. Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York - In re: petition of Mark Batten and Douglas Rackham as joint provisional liquidators of the United Standard Insurance Co. Ltd, legal notice, WSJ, B4.

2. Abbott Laboratories, Dow Jones via WSJ, B11.
   ...agreed to buy Dutch medical-technology company Jomed NV's coronary-&-peripheral-interventional business line.... Jomed was declared bankrupt by the Amsterdam District Court earlier this month and is in receivership....

1. US Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of North Carolina Winston-Salem Division - In re:
   Frisby Technologies Inc., debtor, legal notice, WSJ, B8.

• Princeton Video Image Inc., NYT, C4.
  ...Lawrenceville, NJ, whose computer-generated first-down lines appear in televised football games, [will] file for bankruptcy and negotiate a sale of its assets.

• Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court, District of Massachusetts (Eastern Division) - In re: Carlson Group Inc. et al., debtors - Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B8.

• Weirton Steel files for bankruptcy protection, AP via NYT, C6.
  ...A producer of tin-plated steel to make soup cans and other products filed for Chapter 11...yesterday. The small employee-owned company held on while steel imports brought down dozens of domestic competitors, but it amassed more than $700m in losses over 5 years.... In its filing, Weirton Steel said it had about $654.5m in assets and about $1.41B in debts as of March 31.
  [So their net debt is 1410-654.5= $755.5m.]

• Troll Communications, NYT, B4.
  ...Mahwah, NJ, an operator of book clubs to promote reading among schoolchildren, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection to reorganize the company's finances....

1. Korea distiller is ordered into bankruptcy, by Don Kirk, NYT, W1.
   A South Korean court ordered Jinro, the country's largest distiller, into bankruptcy yesterday and removed its management. The ruling was a ground-breaking victory for a group of foreign creditors led by Goldman Sachs [who] hold $449m of the company's debt...$270m \in\ bonds \by\ Goldman itself.... The case has taken on immense symbolism in South Korea, where...there is strong nationalist sentiment against foreign ownership or control of Korean businesses, and Jinro is seen as especially Korean because it is the leading producer of soju, the national drink, a liquor distilled from rice, sweet potatoes and tapioca.
   [So Japan:saki = S.Korea:soju.]
   Jinro said it would appeal the ruling immediately....
   The company has been in financial distress since the Asian currency crisis of 1997, when, despite a 38% share of the domestic soju market, the company nearly collapsed under $1.5B in debts run up on diversification moves into department stores and other ventures. It was delisted by the Korea Stock Exchange in January....
   [Well, that was the great nationalist defeat back in January - betrayed by its own.]

2. Bankruptcies - in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware - In re: KI-1 Inc. f/k/a Kellstrom Industries Inc. et al., debtors - Chapter 11...jointly administered, legal notice, WSJ, B17.

1. Bankruptcies - US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois - Eastern Division - In re: Allied Products Corp., debtor - Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B4.

1. U.S. subsidiaries make filing for bankruptcy-law protection, WSJ, B11.
   Daisytek International Corp. said its US subsidiaries filed...just days after the parent company's CEO and CFO resigned. The Allen TX distributor of computer and office supplies [has] exhausted financing options and [experienced] liquidity problems that were hurting US operations. The bankruptcy filing [was] made in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division [and] includes Daisytek Inc. and its subsidiaries Arlington Industries Inc., Digital Storage Inc. and Tape Co.  Collectively, these companies had assets and liabilities of $622.9m and $450.5m, respectively, as of Feb. 28. Combined, the companies represent 45% of Daisytek International's annual revenue, interim CEO Dale Booth said....

2. Bankruptcies - U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of New York - In re:
   Marconi (Corp.) PLC, debtors in a foreign proceeding - jointly administered...Sec.304, legal notice, WSJ, B9.

3. In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York - In re:
   Randall's Island Family Golf Centers Inc. et al., debtors - Chapter 11...substantively consolidated, legal notice, WSJ, B9.

• Bankruptcies - In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of Florida - In re:
  Kriton Medical Inc., debtor, ...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B6.

• Bankruptcies - In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division - In re:
  New American Healthcare Corp., NAHC Financial Inc., NAHC of Mississippi/Missouri/Oregon/Texas/Washington/Wyoming Inc., NAHC II of Oregon/Texas Inc., NAHC III of Oregon, Memorial Hospital of Adel Inc., debtors - jointly administered...Chapter 11, legal notice, WSJ, B5.