Archive for July, 2011

How should the United States deal with its growing debt problem? Ron Paul thinks declaring “bankruptcy” might be a good idea.

The Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate was discussing Greece’s fiscal trouble with Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson on Monday when he was asked, “If bankruptcy is the cure for Greece, is it also the cure for the United States?”

“Absolutely,” Paul replied.

Of course, sovereign nations can’t declare bankruptcy the same way a corporation ...

Individual bankruptcies are falling. But that doesn’t say much for the U.S. consumer, who’s still supported by record government stimulus. Before last week’s dismal unemployment report, there was some seemingly bright news for U.S. households. Consumer bankruptcies plummeted 8% in the first half of this year compared to 2010, said the American Bankruptcy Institute. Roughly 709,000 Americans declared insolvency.On the surface this augurs well for households — and for the U.S. economy dependent on their spending. Along with declining ...

Debtor-creditor law governs situations where one party is unable to pay a monetary debt to another. There are three types of creditors.

First are those who have a lien against a particular piece of property. This property (or proceeds from its sale) must be used to satisfy the debt to the lien-creditor before it can be used to satisfy debts to other creditors. A lien may arise through statute, agreement between the parties, or judicial proceedings.

Secondly, ...

Bankruptcy law provides for the development of a plan that allows a debtor, who is unable to pay his creditors, to resolve his debts through the division of his assets among his creditors. This supervised division also allows the interests of all creditors to be treated with some measure of equality. Certain bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. An additional purpose ...

Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. (PIK), South Africa’s second-biggest grocer, may fire about 8.6 percent of its workforce after profit slumped and the retailer prepares for competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)

Labor unions have been informed that Pick n Pay plans to eliminate 3,137 out of 36,673 posts at its retail outlets, the Cape Town-based company said today in two statements. The total number excludes franchise stores.

Pick n Pay’s profit plunged 29 percent ...

“Abusive conduct” by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig created the cash crunch that led to the bankruptcy of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team says.

Now the team is requesting that a bankruptcy court order Major League Baseball to turn over documents the Dodgers say will prove the allegations. And if the league is forced to produce the materials, it could cast a harsh light on the New York Mets and other teams struggling ...

A bill that would allow state officials to reject rate increases proposed by health insurers is under intense lobbying pressure as it faces a key committee vote this week.

Groups representing insurers, doctors and hospitals are trying to have the California bill weakened or killed, although for different reasons.

The outcome of the debate has national significance. The sheer scale in the California insurance market, along with the state’s political landscape and national influence, make it ...

U.S. consumer bankruptcies fell 8 percent in the first half of 2011 from the same period last year as households cut debt and the economy recovered, according to data released on Tuesday.

The number of U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings fell to 709,303 in the first six months of 2011 from 770,117 last year, according to a report by the American Bankruptcy Institute.

For June, consumer bankruptcies were down 5 percent at 119,768, from 126,270 a year ago, the data showed.

More of ...