The City of Vallejo has officially emerged from its three-year bankruptcy after a federal judge confirmed its Chapter 9 bankruptcy exit.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael McManus posted a judgment on Friday that provides a short period of time for parties with some unfulfilled obligations to make an objection for the city’s exit plan.

In an email written on Friday by the city’s bankruptcy counsel Marc Levinson, he said Vallejo has gone out of bankruptcy, though there are still minor issues that have to be dealt with.

The judgment did not came as a surprise to those concerned after McManus said last week that he did not see any obstacle to the city’s exit from bankruptcy protection.

Councilwoman Marti Brown controlled her excitement on Friday with a bit of wary optimism.

Councilwoman Joanne Schivley, a mayoral candidate in this year’s election, said that they now have to move forward and do what has to be done

For Councilman Michael Wilson, the judge’s decision is only one part of reestablishing the city. The other will be to regain stability on Vallejo’s income by acting at the polls.

The city filed for Chapter 9 after three straight years of budget deficits that used up its cash reserves. Its bankruptcy was the second biggest bankruptcy filing by a municipal in the state of California. Vallejo has put in over $10 million on lawyer and advisor fees since it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008.

Vallejo’s spending budget had been weighed down particularly by its contracts with fire and police unions. The benefits and salaries of unions used around 80 percent of its funds, which is approximately $65 million. Before the city filed for bankruptcy, its spending budget was $78 million.

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Borders Group Inc’s plan to sell its real estate assets as well as its name was approved by a bankruptcy judge on Wednesday.

The bookseller’s plan to auction its assets and name is its most recent move in the liquidation.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn authorized the proposal to hold intellectual property rights auction on September 14. The auction sale will include its website, brand name, trademarks, and lists of customers. The name of the second largest bookseller in the U.S. could possibly continue as Internet-based.

The judge also allowed Borders to group its leases into two. The auctions for the leases are scheduled on August 31 and September 13.

The first group of leases includes those that should be broken or assumed by September 30, along with the leases of some of the smaller stores. The rest of the leases that do not belong to the said categories are going to be auctioned on the second schedule. Court hearings to confirm the auction results are set on September 8 and September 20.

Borders extended the deadlines when many of its landlord groups and individual landlords opposed to its original plan that gave them inadequate time to screen buyers if they would be able to fulfill the duties of the bought leases.

Although the judge acknowledged the objections of some landlords about the pace of the procedure, he also said it is necessary for the liquidation to move along. If certain landlords are concerned about the timing, they are allowed to work out extensions with Borders individually.

Borders filed for bankruptcy in February as it was struggling with the competition from other booksellers, particularly online sellers, and Barnes & Noble Inc’s Nook.

It attempted to sell itself to Najafi Cos in order to save the company. However, the deal collapsed due to creditor objection, driving Borders to close all its stores.

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Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc’s restructuring plan was approved by a court on Monday, paving the way for the tax preparer company to come out of bankruptcy.

The agreement successfully completes a fast restructuring for the tax preparer company. It filed for bankruptcy protection in May under Chapter 11 with a prepackaged reorganization plan.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath authorized the plan at a court hearing in Delaware.

According to Jackson Herwitt’s bankruptcy attorney Mark MsDermott, the group of lenders led by Bayside Capital will receive a 75 to 80 percent share, while the rest goes to Bank of Ireland and Wells Fargo & Co.

An attorney for the official creditors’ committee Christopher Winter said the reorganization plan also makes a $1.1 million trust that would be used to pay unsecured creditors. In addition, a trustee would also be allowed to pursue around $2 million for avoidance actions on the part of unsecured creditors. Investors will not be able to recover anything.

Jackson Hewitt did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for the group of lenders led by Bayside could not be reached.

Jackson Hewitt is second-largest U.S. tax preparer. It filed for bankruptcy when regulators started clamping down on income tax refund anticipation loans or RAL, which tax preparers usually lend to customers anticipating tax refunds. The loan was considered by the regulators as unsafe, which made it more difficult for Jackson Hewitt and other tax prepares to obtain funds for RAL.

The clamp down put Jackson Hewitt into trouble with the lenders because it was unable to provide complete financing for the loans, one of the main conditions of its credit agreement.

In its bankruptcy filing in May, the tax preparer company declared $388.6 million in assets and $444.8 million in debt. At that time, Jackson Hewitt was hoping to emerge from bankruptcy within two months.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers has agreed to accept Major League Baseball’s financing offer in order to keep the team operating while it is working on its bankruptcy exit.

According to court papers filed, the Dodgers will take financing from the league for as much as $150 million. The agreement eliminates the team’s issue with the MLB loan trying to gain control over the team. A spokeswoman of the team said that the deal is good enough on both financial and terms aspects.

The parties filed their agreement proposal to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross ordered the Dodgers to negotiate with the league when the team initially preferred to take financing from a hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Gross said that the team is going to save $14 million if they take the league’s offer. Also, it was not clear to the judge how the team expected to perform within the baseball framework if it does not want to cooperate with the Major League Baseball.

Lawyers for the Dodgers explained that their reluctance was caused by the league’s financing offer that could allow Commissioner Bud Selig to gain control over the team. The team agreed to make a deal with the MLB when the league gave an assurance that it would get rid of the contentious language.

The borrowed money will probably be used for the team’s operations. It can give the Dodgers enough time to find a buyer for its cable television rights, which ought to help it stabilize its financial condition.

Before the bankruptcy filing, the team’s owner attempted to sell its TV rights to Fox Sports for $3 billion, but Commissioner Bud Selig of the MLB turned down the sale plan in June. After a few days, the team filed for bankruptcy.

Consumers in the U.S. who hold about $4,950 on their credit cards as stated by TransUnion, are going to be pleased to know that whatever modifications resulting from the downgrade will not be remarkable. And within a certain degree, protections against the changes have been set in place.

The majority of the accounts with fixed rates were modified to adjustable rates in 2009 as a reaction to the downturn in the economy and latest policies.

Banking institutions do not advertise the rates being charged to their existing clients, but almost ninety six percent of the bank offers that have been delivered in the first half of this year for new credit cards have adjustable rates, according to market research firm Mintel Compermedia.

At the moment, banks provide an average of 14.4 percent in yearly interest rate, as reported by Bankrate.com.

Then again, nearly all credit card rates go up and down with the prime interest rate, and that is attached to the interest rate placed by the Fed. It will help to provide protection for credit card customers from the movements of the market temporarily.

The good thing is that even if banks start to send out higher credit card rates, existing account balances are going to be shielded from rate increases based on the credit card reforms in 2009. This implies that only new charges can be subjected to increase of rates. In the event that rates go up many times within a number of months, credit card customers may wind up with various rates on different account balances.

Consumer education for SmartCredit.com president John Ulzheimer said that the regulation currently mandates banks to apply any kind of payments beyond the minimum requirement to the maximum rate balance. The purpose of this is for the new balances to be paid off sooner.

Landlords of Borders Group Inc filed objections for the bookstore sale plan on its leases as part of it is liquidation. According to them, the auction plan does not provide protection to their interests.

There have been at least 20 landlords who filed their objections in the bankruptcy court. Nearly all are demanding for a deadline extension in order to have enough time to assess the winning bidders.

Border has made a proposal a week ago to group the leases into two and hold separate auctions for each group. The first auction will be on August 31 and the second will be on September 13.  The deadlines for filing objections for each of the winning bidders would be two days after the date of the auction.

The landlords are saying that they are not given the time they need to assess the ability of a potential lease buyer to carry out the lease being acquired.

A few of the landlords that filed for objections are the Related Urban Management, RREEF Management Co, and Macerich Co.

Landlords had previously opposed to the tight deadline of objections for the Borders’ sale plan to Najafi Cos. The proposed sale plan collapsed due to the creditors’ strong opposition. It forced Borders to go forward with liquidation of its 399 remaining stores.

Borders is likewise going forward with other areas of its closing, particularly its lease auction proposal and a plan for intellectual property auction. The selling of its intellectual property is going to include list of its customers, the bookstore’s brand name, and trademarks.

A hearing to establish procedures for the bidding of lease and intellectual property is set for Wednesday.

Borders is going out of business after it failed to sell itself in order to get out of bankruptcy. The second-largest bookstore chain in the U.S. filed for bankruptcy saying that it is unable to withstand the growing competition with other booksellers.

Fox Sports protests on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ proposal to employ Blackstone Group to promote its broadcasting rights that could possibly start a conflict with the biggest supporter of the team’s owner.

Fox Sports is the primary television partner of the Dodgers. In court papers filed on Friday, the broadcaster said that the marketing plan proposed by Blackstone violates the present arrangement to broadcast the games of the baseball team throughout the 2013 Major League Baseball season. In addition, it violates the exclusive negotiation rights of Fox Sports until November 2012.

Fox Sports is owned by News Corp. which is also the owner of The Wall Street Journal.

The employment of Blackstone to promote the media rights of the Dodgers is part of the team’s bankruptcy exit plan. The plan will ensure that the team ownership of Frank McCourt stays intact, while their television partner could be angered by their move.

The Dodgers team has already received in advance the payments for its media rights this year. Moreover, Fox Sports had agreed to a $2.7 billion deal that extends its media rights for another 17 years. It was the agreement that could have helped the Dodgers to avert a bankruptcy filing.

The proposal was rejected by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig because a percentage of a $385 million financing that was included with the contract renewal would only be used for McCourt’s divorce settlement.

The team has not yet formally filed a request with the bankruptcy court to allow it to market its media rights. A court hearing on the Dodgers’ request to employ Blackstone is scheduled on August 16.

If the team’s owner is not able to sell the media rights, he would have to sell the team or part of it. Before the filing of bankruptcy, the Dodger Stadium, its surrounding land, and ticket revenue have already been put up for financing collateral by McCourt.

The U.S. House of Representatives approve an agreement to increase the government’s debt limit but does not have enough spending cuts. Because of this, the AAA credit rating of the U.S. can still downgrade anytime within the next six months.

The ratings agencies did not give any comment on the possibility of a downgrade but they have given signals that the worries over the nation’s debt crisis are not yet over.

According to the Moody’s Investors Services, it is probably going to give U.S. a credit rating of AAA at the moment but with a risk of a downgrade. This implies a potential downgrade in the future.

Fitch Ratings has pointed out the U.S. debt has to be lowered so that it can keep its current rating. The Standard & Poor’s indicated that any agreement to lift the debt ceiling should slash not less than $4 trillion from future spending cuts or else the rating is likely to be reduced to AA.

Due to the fact that the deal made by President Obama and leaders of the Congress reduces the amount of spending cuts by half of what the S&P suggested, an expert says that as early as September 2011, the U.S. could lose its AAA rating.

Janney Montgomery Scott chief fixed income strategist Guy Lebas said that ratings agencies might not have a positive outlook of the U.S. plan where most of the budget cuts will take place after the year 2013. By then, the U.S. would have accrued more debt.

Avalon Partners chief economist Peter Cardillo says that as additional details about the spending cuts surface, there’s a seventy percent probability of the U.S. to be downgraded over the next six months.

On the other hand, both Lebas and Cardillo are convinced that a credit rating downgrade will probably not be very detrimental to the U.S.

A downgrade of credit rating normally causes increase of interest rates, according to Fort Pitt Capital Group senior stock research analyst Kim Caughey-Forres. Consequently, it would be costlier for governments, businesses, and people to make a loan. The 10-year Treasury note is recognized as the floor rate of all interests, and so higher interest rates would increase borrowing rates on everything.

Nevertheless, the usual understanding that interest rates will increase dramatically due to a a credit rating downgrade may not actually hold up. Last week, bond strategists of JPMorgan Chase released a study that suggests an increase that is more gradual.

It points out only a minor increase in borrowing costs when nations lose a AAA credit rating. S&P pulled Spain, Italy, and Belgium from AAA to AA in the year 1998 but the 10-year rates had hardly moved. There were even times when the rates dropped. S&P downgraded Ireland’s AAA credit rating in March 2009, but after just one week, their 10-year rates dropped 0.18 percentage points.

Bond traders and analysts do not believe that the U.S. borrowing rates will climb considerably if the country loses its AAA crediting rating. Noting the Treasury’s’ current high demand, Caughey-Forrest as well as others say that international investors continue to believe that U.S. debt is one of the most secure investments. Numerous, money market funds, mutual funds, and banking companies consider U.S. debt very secure, even with the current threats of debt default and borrowing rates increase.

According to Peter Cardillo and brokerage BTI chief global strategist Dan Greenhaus, even if there will be a credit rating downgrade, the Treasury will still be considered as a safe haven since it’s the largest and most liquid market.

The United States is having issues paying back their debt, and you may be in a similar situation as well.  Filing a San Antonio bankruptcy can eliminate this debt, and can help you move in the right financial direction.

GOP leaders were cramming to save their budget plan to cut deficits on Friday after conservatives heightened an insurgence that added uncertainty on efforts to prevent a debt default on August 2.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner failed to get adequate support for his proposal on Thursday. It unveiled a falling out in the GOP that is barring efforts to arrive at an agreement to increase the U.S. debt limit before its deadline.

Economists caution that defaulting could shove the country’s unstable economy back into depression. Anxieties about the economy’s health elevated after the authorities reported that the nation’s gross domestic product in the second quarter grew at only 1.3 percent, a growth which is lesser than expected.

Representative Trey Gowdy, who had opposed Boehner’s appeals, said that they are making progress and estimated that it would pass within the day.

The House member is supported by the Tea Party movement. He told CNN that they will propose a plan to raise the debt limit in a responsible way.

President Barack Obama says that if Republicans and Democrats do not agree on a deal, the U.S. government is going to start using up all its money to cover all its obligations on August 2. Such possibility is making investors more and more nervous.

There are only a few days left before the deadline so the Department of Treasury could present an emergency plan at the earliest on Friday. It will be explained how the United States government would operate and pay its bills if Congress fails to strike a deal to increase its debt limit by more than $14.3 trillion. The emergency plan will possibly be unveiled after markets close on Friday.

For weeks now, investors had counted that the borrowing limit would be raised by Washington soon enough. However, with the deadline fast approaching, markets are shaken. On Friday, the U.S. dollar delved to its lowest against the Swiss franc as a result of debt concerns and weak economic growth.

While politicians figure out the solution to our problems individuals and businesses are taking a toll from their effects.  If you are an individual or business that has been affected by this horrible economy and need help.  Contact a San Antonio Bankruptcy Attorney for help with a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Banks charged of neglecting the signs of Madoff’s fraud have triumphed in a U.S. federal court, as a bankruptcy judge ruled that the trustee cannot pursue the majority of his claims seeking money for investors of the massive fraud.

New York federal Judge Jed Rakoff’s decision can potentially impede trustee Irving Picard in trying to recover funds for investors of the Madoff fraud. The claims filed were at least $103 billion. Many other victims of Madoff are seeking separate claims.

Rakoff dismissed the trustee’s common law claims against Pioneer Alternative Investment Management, and UniCredit Spa. Picard had sought to recoup money on the argument that the accused banks neglected an obligation to Madoff’s clients by ignoring signs of fraud.

But Rakoff pointed out a federal law relating to liquidation of brokers says that it does not provide authority on a bankruptcy trustee to make such claims. Among these claims are aiding and abetting fraud and violation of legal or ethical relationship of confidence, and unfair enrichment.

A spokeswoman of the bankruptcy trustee said Picard and his attorneys are going over the judge’s decision.

A lawyer for Unicredit said they are pleased about the court’s decision.

Picard had claimed that common sense, consumer protection, and case law allow him to take legal action against banks that he thinks aided or abetted Bernard Madoff in his Ponzi scheme, as opposed to merely make an effort to recover funds from the banks that allegedly benefit from it.

The defendants disagreed saying that even though the law permits the trustee to file a lawsuit to recover victims’ money, he had no legal right to pursue his claims against them. Only the investors of a fraud are allowed to make such claims.

UniCredit is also involved in Picard’s $58.8 billion suit against Bank Medici and majority stakeholder Sonja Kohn among others, which accuses racketeering or RICO violations.

A San Antonio Chapter 7 bankruptcy can wipe out debts for individuals or businesses that meet the requirements.