Published Tuesday, December 6, 2011 @ 3:32 pm

In a classic case of what goes up, must come down, the world’s forth largest airline is now seeking the safe havens of bankruptcy so that it might once again be “something special in the air.”

According to Reuters, American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week “to cut labor costs in the face of high fuel prices and dampened travel demand, capping a prolonged descent for what was once the largest U.S.…

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Published Thursday, December 1, 2011 @ 6:31 pm

We’ve talked a lot about the recent record-breaking Black Friday, but it was our nation’s President who instead promoted shopping on the second annual “Small Business Saturday,” a day (November 26) devoted to spurring growth and hiring in some of our country’s most hard-hit business sectors.

According to Reuters, “Promoting “Small Business Saturday”, the second annual event to help Main Street merchants in a tough U.S.…

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Published Tuesday, November 29, 2011 @ 8:12 am

Threats of a double-dip recession — a recession, followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession — permeated the headlines in 2011, at a time when there were plenty of signs that this second coming of an economic downturn had begun. Stagnate hiring, a paltry job market and plummeting real estate prices, as well as low consumer confidence, all made another financial reckoning feel less like a fiction and more like a reality.…

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Published Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 1:21 pm

When President Obama released his eagerly anticipated $45 billion jobs plan last week, many economists were quick to criticize the efficacy of the strategy’s payroll tax cuts.

But many small business owners across the country are praising the plan, saying that these exact incentives would allow them to immediately hire a number of workers they’ve been needing for months, if not years, but formerly had no way of subsidizing.…

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Published Monday, July 25, 2011 @ 11:28 am

Local Businessman Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (And You Can Too)

A North Carolina businessman recently filed sought the safe havens of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being hit with two civil complaints in the past year, based on a recent story by the Johnston County’s The Herald. According to the paper, “The Dueas filed for bankruptcy protection on April 29 – about two weeks after a Smithfield cardiologist sued Jody Duea.…

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Published Wednesday, May 25, 2011 @ 5:50 am

Arts and cultural organizations are not immune to the economic impacts of the recent Great Recession. Falling attendance and rising costs of real estate, overhead and administration marked the decline of many museums, galleries and theatrical venues in recent years.

This same scenario appeared to be problem for the Philadelphia Orchestra, long considered one of the best in the country.…

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Published Sunday, April 10, 2011 @ 3:45 pm

Not that long ago, green industries like ethanol producers were on par to make a ton of greenbacks, capitalizing on the needs of a public clamoring for cleaner and less costly alternatives to fossil fuels and rising gasoline prizes. But fast forward to 2011, a time when corn prices have more than doubled while ethanol prices refused to keep pace proportionally with these rises in corn prices.…

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Published Wednesday, March 16, 2011 @ 11:24 am

Chicago’s own Giordano’s, one of the most popular purveyors of stuffed pizza, is filing for bankruptcy protection.

It’s not unusual to hear of any business filing for bankruptcy in these tough economic times. During the Recession, less consumer demand and fewer customer orders often caused a rise in inventory, losses in sales margins, and high debts with no solution other than going out of business or restructuring via a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.…

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Published Tuesday, March 15, 2011 @ 12:37 pm

With the resurgence of the nation’s rabid appetite for news and information, the emergence of online shopping, and the advent of e-readers, with their promise of any book, any time, anywhere, as well as cheaper pricing, shoppers are now abandoning bookstores like Borders and Barnes & Nobles as they did music stores more than 10 years ago.…

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Published Monday, February 28, 2011 @ 11:34 am

The recent unrest in the Middle East is creating economic issues for many consumers and small business owners across the country, as insecurity in oil-producing countries causes skyrocketing gas prices here at home. Specifically, struggling companies that thought they had survived the worst of the Recession are now faced with soaring oil prices and no solution to handle this sudden need for more cash assets.…

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Published Tuesday, February 15, 2011 @ 8:40 pm

The publishing industry is undergoing some pretty dramatic changes in recent years, with many of these changes reflected in brick and mortar bookseller bankruptcies. And Borders Group Inc. (BGP) is likely the most recent victim of the increasing movement towards e-books and digital media.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based national chain which made its major imprint with physical shelf-space for literary best-sellers and popular music CDs, is set to file for bankruptcy this week.…

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Published Wednesday, December 29, 2010 @ 1:33 pm

In every film there’s a protagonist, a conflict, and a resolution. And over the years, famous film directors from Kubrick to Polanksi have painted the Metro Goldwyn Mater film lots with many of these three-part cinematic elements—elements that, in the golden age of filmmaking of the 20^th century, brought in billions for MGM’s coffers.…

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Published Friday, November 5, 2010 @ 10:28 pm

Months after a number of debated stimulus efforts on the part of our federal government to help bolster an ever-weakening economy, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke is bringing to light yet another move designed to try it again. Given the mood of the people and their recent display of frustration at the polls, it’s not very likely that Bernanke’s message will reach accepting ears.…

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Published Tuesday, October 5, 2010 @ 12:16 pm

Serious debt happens to most people before they realize it. Even though it’s always there, only when the income stops do the debt obligations get really noticed. And in a recession like the one that has plagued our country for the last three years, loss of income is a common thing.…

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Published Wednesday, August 4, 2010 @ 6:52 pm

In these tough financial times, finding people with a steady job, much less a job that provides a higher income, can be difficult. As a result, it may be surprising to find a lot of these high-income debtors are currently considering bankruptcy. But in this economic downturn, many of these men and women are suffering from unexpected challenges to their steady income and business, and, as a result, joining millions of other Americans by seeking the safe harbors of bankruptcy to protect what they’ve worked for.…

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Published Friday, May 28, 2010 @ 5:38 pm

In the new HBO series Treme, viewers follow the lives of New Orleans residents a mere three months following the physical, emotional and economic devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The cast of characters represents a cross-section of ordinary New Orleanians—from police to piano players—trying to rebuild their lives, their homes and their unique culture in the aftermath of the 2005 storm.…

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Published Wednesday, May 19, 2010 @ 8:20 am

In a move that, as The New York Times described it, “will affect most American corporations,” the Labor Department has announced its latest mandates for company compliance with plans to end wage violations, increase workplace safety and adhere to equal employment laws.

As The New York Times’ Steve Greenhouse reported, “The effort, aimed in part at reducing the incidence of employers not paying overtime and improperly classifying workers as independent contractors, will require them to document many of their decisions and share that information with their workers and the government.…

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Published Friday, April 23, 2010 @ 1:05 pm

Since the Great Recession began in 2007, small businesses across the country have been squeezed.  Exacerbated by the flagging economy, small business owners everywhere are not only facing high employee health care costs and lagging consumer and commercial spending, but also fewer credit options. And while loans have always been the lifeblood of the small business, all across our great nation, mom and pop endeavors with even the most solid credit histories face tremendous obstacles in qualifying for much-needed capital.…

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Published Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 10:48 am

Are you feeling too broke to break out of debt? For those ready to end the cycle of debt, it is important to understand that bankruptcy is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and bankruptcy filings are complex cases catering to your individual economic needs.

Bankruptcy, like so many areas of the law, is in a constant state of evolution, having been refined and redefined over the decades and through several important pieces of legislation.…

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Published Wednesday, March 24, 2010 @ 8:00 pm

In this economy, qualifying for a bank loan or line of credit can feel impossible—even for people with perfect credit—and much more so if you’re trying to bounce back from a recent bankruptcy. But a bit of patience (targeting smaller community banks rather than large corporate banks) and a bit of help (getting others to vouch for you) can improve your odds tremendously—even in this uncertain economic climate.…

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Published Tuesday, February 2, 2010 @ 2:30 pm

Many of our clients automatically assume they will lose their rental property if they file for bankruptcy. Isn’t that the whole idea of bankruptcy? That you give up everything you have, with a few exceptions, in exchange for getting the debt collectors off your back?

Well, no. Many factors come in to play in determining whether or not you will be forced to sell your rental property, including whether you file chapter 7 or chapter 13, how much money you owe on the property and how much income you receive from it.…

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Published Monday, January 4, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

In states like North Carolina—composed largely of rural areas dotted with farmland and abutting the ripe fishing grounds of the Atlantic—Chapter 12 bankruptcy can be exceptionally helpful to working farming and fishing families who might otherwise be bankruptcy bound.

In part one of the four-part series, entitled Chapter 12 Bankruptcy, we introduced the concept of Chapter 12, provided a brief overview of the special rights related to this protection, and shared who (or in some cases, “what”) qualifies as a family farm or family fisherman under the Bankruptcy Code.…

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Published Wednesday, December 30, 2009 @ 10:49 am

You don’t have to be Chrysler or GM to consider bankruptcy. Maybe you are a small business owner with just a few employees and are struggling to keep everyone on the payroll while you fight off creditors, waiting for the next big contract to come through. You’re not alone. Here are the things you might consider as you look down the road.…

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Published Monday, December 7, 2009 @ 12:57 pm

The rise of mega-bankruptcies in the last two years has literally changed the face of how our financial system works, incorporating new precedents for pre-arranged Chapter 11 filings and instituting new standards of government intervention. Now the results of these sweeping insolvencies are being translated into legislative activity.

For a number of weeks, lawmakers have been considering a new method by which to systematically dismantle struggling companies that if allowed to crumble under current laws, would pose a significant risk to the economy.…

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Published Tuesday, December 1, 2009 @ 7:35 am

Exacerbated by the recent recession, self-employed or small business owners everywhere are facing fewer credit options, high health care costs, and lagging consumer spending. Those struggling to stay afloat in these tough financial times must ask themselves even tougher questions. Do I have the motivation to continue my business? Could the business prosper if it wasn’t keeping up with old debts?…

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Published Saturday, July 11, 2009 @ 8:07 am

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is in the news a lot these days. Like individuals, more and more large corporations are struggling to weather the current economic downturn. Just think of GM, Chrysler, Lehman Brothers, and the like. Chapter 11 bankruptcy essentially does for corporations what Chapter 13 does for individuals: it allows them to reorganize their debts into an affordable repayment plan.…

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Published Friday, July 10, 2009 @ 8:10 am

While details of super-sized corporate failures, like GM and Chrysler, are being splashed across front pages of newspapers and websites, grabbing our attention and garnering an inordinate amount of debate, the reality is that the vast majority of commercial bankruptcies are filed by entrepreneurs and small-business owners. The first five months of this year have shown a 52% increase in the total number of commercial bankruptcy filings.…

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Published Tuesday, June 16, 2009 @ 5:04 pm

Chapter 11 bankruptcy has received a lot of discussion of late. From General Motors to Chrysler to even Six Flags amusement parks, corporate reorganization has been the talk of Wall Street. Most of the conversation has been about the impact on jobs, cars, stock markets and CEO pay.

Unfortunately, a lot of this news fails to educate the general consumer about the benefits and nuances of bankruptcy.…

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Published Monday, April 27, 2009 @ 8:56 am

A unique bankruptcy case is underway in New York that holds in its outcome the fate of some very prized items of sports memorabilia.

Among the seized items is the black sports bra that United States Womens soccer star Brandi Chastain modeled moments after securing the World Cup for the country in 1999.…

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