Bankruptcy Information

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is getting crushed with an 9% loss in its stock this morning.  The move is on the heels of earnings and a much lowered expectation for 2012 sales.  The question to ask is not just whether or not the short sellers have more room to run on this one.  The question to ask is whether or not the taxpayers will get left hanging here.

Solyndras huge Department of Energy loan implosion was painful enough at about $500 million.  Most investors do not really focus on the notion that First Solar has a large amount of Department of Energy loans.  First Solar ended the most recent quarter with cash and marketable securities of $788 million.

Getting a live tally on all of the Department of Energy loan guarantees is a bit murky, but as of last June it was put around $4.5 billion to First Solar alone. That figure does include a current project, which is being sold. Sadly,

Read full post…

Tags: First Solar, Fslr

On December 23rd 2011, the United States Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law a two month continuation (into January and February 2012) of the 2% 2011 Social Security Payroll Tax reduction for employees.

The dynamics that the tax cut is limited to two months inherently creates a potential tax strategy for sharp taxpayers, tax lawyers, tax attorneys, tax accountants and tax advisors.  Had Congress not had the foresight to anticipate and close the opportunity for this tax strategy (tax loophole) taxpayers and tax professionals could have bunched their income into the first two months of 2012 to take advantage of the 2% reduction most or all of the year regardless of whether the Social Security Payroll Tax reduction is continued for the remainder of 2012.  To forestall this strategy, Congress included a “recapture” provision which essentially limits the 2% reduction to two twelfths of the $110,100 2012 Social Security Wage Base.  A parallel provision accomplishing the same result for self employment taxes is also included.  For employers who use payroll service or payroll software the additional computations should be hardly noticeable.  For employers who manually prepare their payroll this makes payroll preparation even exciting.

For information on payroll tax or other tax related legal concerns, contact the Chicago tax lawyers at Horowitz & Weinstein.

Tags: Payroll Tax, Tax

709,303 personal bankruptcies were filed between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011.  This is 7.9 percent fewer than the number of personal bankruptcies filed in the same time period in 2010.

According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, 2010 had the highest number of bankruptcies filed since new bankruptcy laws went into effect in 2005.  Experts predict that a total of 1.46 million bankruptcies will be filed in the U.S. by the end of this year.

119,768 personal bankruptcies were filed in the U.S. in June.  This is a 4.3 percent increase from the number of personal bankruptcies filed in the month of May and a 5 percent year-over-year decrease.

Tags: 2011, Personal Bankruptcies

Earlier this month, three creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against the Don Jacobs Mitsubishi car dealership in Milwaukee. The car dealership is currently closed.

The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing was filed against Don Jacobs Imports, LLC, and claims debts of approximately $47,000. The creditors filed the bankruptcy in an attempt to stop a lawsuit from being filed against the car dealership by Boucher Automotive Group.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions can be a new start for individuals and businesses with the elimination of unsecured debts. In addition, under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, debtors can rebuild their credit.

Tags: Car Dealership, Dealership, Involuntary Bankruptcy

LTRO to boost bank profits, reducing need for loan sales

Managers waiting for opportunities since credit crisis

Some funds sit on cash levels of up to 50 pct

Distressed funds lost 1.8 pct last year HFR

Restructuring opportunities seen better in U.S.

By Laurence Fletcher

LONDON, March 7 Hedge funds stalking distressed assets in Europe may be left with slim pickings after a trillioneuro cash injection from the European Central Bank eased the pressure on banks to dump some of their weaker holdings.

Many fund managers, who have been scenting prey since the credit crisis began, had been hoping European banks would sell off assets such as corporate loans and project finance debt to comply with Basel III global capital adequacy rules, the thrust of which comes into force next year.

However, some managers think the opportunity may have gone for now after the ECB flooded markets with 530 billion euros of cheap cash last week, on top of a 489 billion tranche in December, to try and head off a second credit crunch.

Many believe the cheap money, lent via the Longterm Refinancing Operations at 1 percent for three years, will make life easier for banks by allowing them to boost their profits and avoid asset firesales for the moment.

“Distressed opportunities in Europe are further away than the consensus thinks,” said Girish Reddy, founder and managing partner at Prisma Capital Partners, which manages around $7.5 billion in assets.

“The LTRO is allowing banks to rebuild their balance sheets through profitability.

Read full post…

Tags: Ltro