Lenny Dykstra was lauded for his heroics with the Mets and Philles. After his career, Dykstra became well-known as a post-career athlete success story. Then the truth started coming out... [more inside]
posted by reenum on Oct 27, 2009 - 22 comments

Limited Purpose Banking -- for lending, investing, etc. -- Turn all financial firms into mutual funds: "All mutual funds would break the buck with one exception: cash mutual funds. These funds would strictly hold cash and be valued at $1 per share. Owners of these funds would write checks against their balances and never have to worry about a bank run. Fractional reserve banking and the FDIC would be history." [previously] [more inside]
posted by kliuless on May 3, 2009 - 15 comments

The final hours of Circuit City. (via)
posted by Joe Beese on Mar 9, 2009 - 135 comments

Chicago-based video game developer Midway Games has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [more inside]
posted by 40 Watt on Feb 14, 2009 - 43 comments

Say goodbye to Blockbuster, Sbarro's, Rite Aid, Krispy Kreme and Chrysler. 15 US companies that probably won't make it through 2009.
posted by CunningLinguist on Feb 11, 2009 - 228 comments

Trump Entertainment is about to run out of the third extension of its debt payments. Station Casinos is offering its investors as little as 10 cents on the dollar in a pre-packaged bankruptcy. Wynn Resorts is cutting staff hours and bonuses to avoid layoffs. MGM Mirage may see a default rate of 30% on its City Center condominiums. Harrah's long-term debt has doubled. There are no more traffic jams on the Strip. Oh... and the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City had to settle a $70 million sexual harassment lawsuit brought by its beverage servers. In short: times are tough.
posted by Joe Beese on Feb 9, 2009 - 61 comments

Andrew Ross Sorkin takes apart GM piece by piece. [more inside]
posted by jourman2 on Nov 18, 2008 - 134 comments

Nova eikaiwa is the biggest foreign language school in Japan, teaching predominantly English through a network of over 600 branches across the county and employing over 7,000 foreign nationals. After adverse rulings to a number of complaints regarding Nova's refund policy, the Japanese Government imposed a 6 month ban from July to prevent the company from selling large lesson packages to students. The company has experienced a severe downturn in cashflow as a result and there are reports of late payment to Japanese staff and suppliers in the last two months. Foreign teachers were unaffected until salary payments for the 15th September were paid late, and more senior teachers have not yet been paid. Despite not being paid, many staff face a tough decision: quit, or continue to show up to work in the knowledge that if the company goes bankrupt they are eligible for unemployment benefits. Despite this, CEO Nozomu Sahashi declared last Friday "The dark clouds that have been hanging heavily over us will be cast aside... I said previously 'the darkest time is before the dawn,' and finally the first light of dawn can be seen". Five days later and some teachers are still waiting to be paid.
posted by cwhitfcd on Sep 25, 2007 - 20 comments

Ever considered buying or starting a franchised restaurant? Right now, Quiznos might be best avoided...... (You might also avoid the franchises sold by a company called Raving Brands.)
posted by metasonix on Mar 14, 2007 - 80 comments

Audi released its new super-sportscar, the R8, at the Paris Autoshow today. With cars like the R8 and the Bugatti Veyron at the top end and the Toyota, Volkswagen or Lexus, there's lots of neat stuff going on in the automotive world...just not from GM, Ford or Chrysler. Maybe it's just me, but pumping out crap like this may be part of the reason. Just guessing.
posted by tgrundke on Sep 27, 2006 - 63 comments

Student Loan Justice. c/o Village Voice. (cf.)
posted by xowie on Jan 27, 2006 - 72 comments

When can federal bankruptcy judges rule on state probate matters? In Marshall vs Marshall, the Supreme Court will consider this rather unsexy, technical issue during its next session.
posted by mischief on Sep 27, 2005 - 14 comments

A double whammy for the U.S. economy this winter: Bankers have announced credit card minimum payments will double starting in early 2006 as a 10-year payback system is adopted. Meanwhile in October comes the controversial bankruptcy reform. All this on a blanket of spiralling gas prices. That Unahome may be the wave of the future for a lot of Americans.
posted by rolypolyman on Aug 21, 2005 - 37 comments

UAL (United Airlines) dumps four pension plans[optional audio interview with Businessweek expert] ; bankruptcy court authorizes shifting of USD 5 billions (allegedly largest pension default in U.S. history) in pension obligations to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. As a result the burden of private failure and incompetency will be shared by all taxpayers (whose taxes finance PBGC which is already operating on a 23 Billion deficit) and by beneficiaries of the pension plans who will see their pension severely cut : pilots from 100K to 30K pensions but also less privileged workers will be hit. For instance Mrs Tamuk, spokeswoman from Association of Flight Attendants said her pension will be reduced from $1,700 a month to $800 a month.
posted by elpapacito on May 11, 2005 - 94 comments

Like misbehaving teenagers, Jetsgo passengers find themselves grounded indefinitely. As it turns out you can't both operate on razor-thin margins AND spend millions upon millions in expensive marketing campaigns. Who'd have thunk it?
posted by clevershark on Mar 11, 2005 - 23 comments

A Senate bill to overhaul federal bankruptcy laws, a top priority of retailers, auto lenders and banks, cleared a key hurdle Tuesday afternoon. Sixty-nine senators -- nine more than needed -- voted for "cloture," a procedural move that limits debate. Republican leaders hope to push the bill to a final vote by the end of the week. Earlier, the Senate turned back a controversial, abortion-related amendment that has scuttled previous efforts to pass bankruptcy legislation. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was first introduced in 1998 as The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act.
posted by airguitar on Mar 8, 2005 - 63 comments

An umbrella that melts in the rain WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half of all U.S. bankruptcies are caused by soaring medical bills and most people sent into debt by illness are middle-class workers with health insurance, researchers said on Wednesday. "Our study is frightening. Unless you're Bill Gates you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy."
posted by Shanachie on Feb 2, 2005 - 69 comments

He spent a lifetime peddling smut and once had an $11 million fortune, but after losing everything and becoming just another homeless New Yorker, Al Goldstein is now happy pushing bagels instead of porn.
posted by terrier319 on Jan 24, 2005 - 16 comments

Delta Airlines to announce chapter 11 tomorrow around noon.
posted by Keyser Soze on Oct 26, 2004 - 58 comments

An interesting study by The Century Foundation. I found it while perusing the NY Times op-eds...specifically, Bob Herbert. It seems that "Household debt and personal bankruptcies are reaching record highs despite low interest rates and rising real estate values."
posted by BlueTrain on Aug 9, 2004 - 59 comments

Americans are not going broke over lattes! Salon (warning: ad click-through required) interviews the author of a book who contends that American middle class overconsumption is a myth. This made me really think about how I relate to my $$$, and what I think is pushing me deeper into a hole. According to this author, kids are forcing people into bankruptcy, and it's not because we buy them gameboys and expensive clothes. The author also claims that credit card companies and mortgage lenders need to be regulated by the govt., as they are feeding off of middle class hardships. It's also making me wonder why real estate developers aren't building small homes anymore, at least in my state of the union.
posted by archimago on Oct 14, 2003 - 91 comments

The Seven Year Itch (Not To Mention The Solution To All Your Financial Problems): Bankruptcy! Clarissa Dickson-Wright, the surviving (blonder; more corpulent; less Mediterranean; less adept at actually cooking) half of the wonderful BBC cooking show Two Fat Ladies, serves a salty and amusing column on bankruptcy. For those deep in debt - never mind how paltry the sums involved - it offers a legal, no-more-stiff-letters-and-phonecalls solution. And the consequences, credit-wise, seem only to last 7 years. As someone who's lunatically overspent ever since I was born, growing worse and more debt-ridden ever since, I'm sorely tempted. But the apparent immorality of it keeps holding me back. To what extent is it a viable alternative? Are we hoi polloi suckers for not using it more? I mean, rich people use it mercilessly all the time!
posted by MiguelCardoso on Oct 9, 2003 - 51 comments

We all knew the day would come, the time to put the "you" in P2P: Buy your own piece of Napster at their bankruptcy auction. December 11th, live and webcast, their impressive set of top o' the line (for 2001) equipment is up for grabs.
posted by mathowie on Nov 19, 2002 - 9 comments

Need some office equipment? Maybe you'll want to check out the 8863 items from Arthur Andersen being auctioned off, starting tomorrow. Lots of printers, monitors, servers, apparently not much cable management, but no shredders that I've seen yet. Then again, I haven't looked through the 6 meg Excel spreadsheet of all items either. Just the ticket, in case you need 18 floors(600,000 square feet) worth of furniture and equipment. A cold, hard footnote to a pathetic and shameful story of integrity squandered.
posted by dglynn on Sep 30, 2002 - 16 comments

Enron 'Crooked E' For Sale "The ultimate symbol of the bankrupt power trader -- one of the ubiquitous chrome signs dubbed "the Crooked E" for its distinctive slant and commentary on the company's questionable dealings -- is on the auction block." The sign is only one of thousands of items up for sale September 25th and 26th, at the Houston Radisson Astrodome hotel.
posted by gummi on Sep 17, 2002 - 7 comments

It's official, Napster is dead as the company folds, reading to go Chapter 7. On the upside, this is possibly the best goodbye dotcom message ever.
posted by mathowie on Sep 4, 2002 - 40 comments

Get laid off in public. Vanguard Airlines suspends operations; posts its system-wide pink slip on its HOME PAGE for you all to see. "Wages and salaries owed you as of today are "prepetition wages" and likely will not be paid for a matter of months, if not longer.... Any Vanguard stock you hold (including stock purchased in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan) is almost certainly worthless and it is likely you will be entitled to claim a capital loss on such stock this year." But not all is gloomy: the CEO "wish[es] you the best in your future career. You will be in our prayers." Aww, shucks.
posted by PrinceValium on Jul 30, 2002 - 29 comments

WorldCom goes boom. (NY Times link.) Another big firm with accounting, ahem, "issues" declares bankruptcy. If you're comparing these disasters by size, this one completely blows Enron and Global Crossing out of the water.
posted by mrbula on Jul 21, 2002 - 14 comments

Napster files for bankruptcy - The pioneer finally gives up the ghost. *sob*
posted by wibbler on Jun 3, 2002 - 6 comments

The Enron Blame Game Get yer programs here, find out who's blaming who in the bankruptcy to end all bankruptcies! Pretty neat interactive diagram from the folks at Slate, no matter your idealogical slant.
posted by owillis on Feb 1, 2002 - 2 comments

Kmart on Verge of Filing for Bankruptcy ...guess you'll have to get your crap from Walmart now.
posted by deftone on Jan 21, 2002 - 64 comments

A week before filing for bankruptcy protection, energy giant Enron Corp. donated $100,000 to the Democratic Party committee that helps Senate candidates, campaign finance reports show. Enron has been talked about before, so do people think this is an important sum of money, if not why is CNN covering it?
posted by rhyax on Dec 28, 2001 - 13 comments

Excite turns out the lights. For the last four years Excite's portal page has been my daily stop for news, stocks, showtimes, weather, etc. But they've been turning off services for weeks, and now the whole portal seems to be dead. Are free news portals soon to be quaint memory? [more inside]
posted by y6y6y6 on Nov 29, 2001 - 35 comments

How to make $4 million, the easy way. A bankrupt Connecticut couple starts a business and secures state, city, and private funding. Then they go out of business and disappear from the face of the earth.
posted by dayvin on Oct 2, 2001 - 0 comments

Tower Records on the verge of bankruptcy. Is this the sign of a declining record industry or a retail marketplace that has become increasingly ruthless?
posted by ed on Jun 25, 2001 - 35 comments

Bye-bye Feed. No press release to link to, so I might be jumping the gun a bit, but my sources say everyone at Automatic Media was fired. That includes all of Feed and the production guy for Suck, though it appears Suck will be going on alone. Apparently, the line is is they’re looking for some quick cash to keep going, but I’m afraid I’ve heard that line often with no results. Supposedly they’ll announce it tomorrow, since no one will be around to update the site. Very sad day.
posted by capt.crackpipe on Jun 7, 2001 - 40 comments

marchFIRST implodes. We've known it's been coming for a long time, but only yesterday did they finally do the chapter 11 thing. Just one of the bigger victims of the dot-com fallout, or the inevitable result of two companies (Whittman-Hart, USWeb/CKS) that shouldn't have even considered merging in the first place?
posted by mrbula on Apr 13, 2001 - 15 comments

Pre-bankruptcy bonuses at PG&E The corruption in California couldn't be any more obvious to me.
posted by Brilliantcrank on Apr 8, 2001 - 20 comments

PG & E declaring bankruptcy. So if every website in the bay area goes down, it may not be due to the dotcom fallout. And remember kids, when the lights go off, you'll want to loot your local Fry's before anything else.
posted by mathowie on Apr 6, 2001 - 40 comments

The House has passed the bankruptcy reform bill that Clinton vetoed at the end of the last session. I'm mildly optimistic that it won't pass the Senate, given that the Democratic vote in the House was split. But should we be worried at all? At first glance, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. But so many consumer groups are against it, and it seems to benefit credit card companies while hurting individuals, so I'm inclined to think we should leave things as-is. Especially since personal bankruptcies are down and credit card issuers' profits are up. Anyone know more about this?
posted by aaron on Mar 1, 2001 - 7 comments

Schadenfreude update: eToys has officially announced it will file Chapter 7 and liquidate in 5-10 days. And, as expected, Disney started Round 2 of layoffs from its cash-hemmoraghing operation, this time gutting ABCNEWS.com and ABC.com. Predictions as to who's next?
posted by aaron on Feb 26, 2001 - 5 comments

Is it just me, or does it seem ridiculous that Napster will have one billion dollars of expendable net income over the next five years that it will be able to pay to the record labels? The labels would be crazy to accept this; in a year, when Napster files for Chapter 11, the settlement would vanish.
posted by delfuego on Feb 20, 2001 - 26 comments

Soon several thousand movie theaters will close nationwide. Short of tearing it down and building something else, what would you do with a multi-screen theater if you could pick up one for a few cents on the dollar at a bankrupcy auction? Can anyone think of any use for these monsters?
posted by Steven Den Beste on Jan 14, 2001 - 26 comments

What to do after you realize your dot com is never going to make money Apparently once you run out of other people's money one option is to stop spending extravagant amounts of money.
posted by rdr on Jan 7, 2001 - 13 comments

Bankruptcy without style: living.com posted their employee (and customer) data on their web site when they "made their documents public." It included salaries and addresses of employees. "Privacy advocates said it appeared to be the first bankruptcy filing posted on a retail Web site and a cautionary tale about the posting of private information that is contained in a public document."
posted by bison on Oct 21, 2000 - 11 comments

Scour goes bankrupt. Where am I going to get my copy of X-Men the movie now? Don't tell me I have to dust off my FTP client!
posted by Brilliantcrank on Oct 13, 2000 - 0 comments