AMR avoids investigation into $2.26 billion debt deals
By Nick BrownPosted 2012/11/08 at 3:20 pm EST
NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2012 (Reuters) ? Hedge fund Marathon Asset Management has withdrawn a request for an independent investigator to examine the books of American Airlines, a unit of bankrupt AMR Corp, lawyers for the companies said at a hearing on Thursday.
An American Airlines passenger jet glides in under the moon as it lands at LaGuardia airport in New YorkNew York, August 28, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The move came after AMR agreed to preserve potential clawback claims relating to debt deals, struck between Marathon and AMR, that left American Airlines with $2.26 billion of debt.
AMR entered bankruptcy last November, and is considering its options for emerging either as a standalone firm or to merge with smaller competitor US Airways Group, which is making an aggressive takeover push.
Marathon, which has said it holds "well over" $100 million of AMR debt, last month sought an examiner to probe intercompany transactions consummated in the weeks before AMR's Chapter 11 filing. The deals transferred about $2.26 billion of debt from AMR's American Eagle unit to American Airlines.
Marathon said in court papers it was concerned that potential legal claims to claw the money back would be barred under the language of a separate settlement, under which AMR refinanced about 200 of its aircraft.
AMR dismissed that argument in court filings as an "obvious litigation tactic." But on Thursday, it agreed to expressly preserve such claims in exchange for Marathon dropping its request for an examiner, AMR attorney Richard Hahn said at the hearing in federal bankruptcy court in White Plains, N.Y..
The resolution also allows AMR to move forward with the underlying aircraft refinancing deal, which it says will save about $670 million on planes manufactured by Embraer.
Marathon has been taking a more vocal role in AMR's bankruptcy, adding another layer of complexity to the already multi-faceted case.
The examiner request was Marathon's second attempt to flex its muscles as a significant creditor, coming days after it sent a letter to AMR Chief Executive Tom Horton demanding more transparency about the airline's restructuring efforts.
It remains unclear whether Marathon supports a standalone restructuring or a US Airways merger, or whether Marathon would be in a position to finance an independent exit from bankruptcy for AMR. But as a large debtholder, the hedge fund could be in a position to influence either scenario by objecting to plans it does not support.
US Airways would like to acquire AMR out of bankruptcy, while a group of debtholders including JPMorgan Chase & Co has expressed interest in financing a standalone exit.
AMR received court permission at Thursday's hearing to extend for 30 days, through January 28, its unilateral control of its bankruptcy exit plan. That means US Airways cannot propose its own takeover plan until that date, and that any merger plan before that date would have to be a cooperative effort with AMR.
Labor issues will also affect AMR's ability to emerge from bankruptcy independently.
High labor costs were a driving force in the company's bankruptcy filing, and while the airline has reached new collective bargaining deals with its flight attendants' and ground workers' unions, it remains at odds with its pilots.
That could spook investors assessing the company's stability going forward, and AMR's creditors' committee has said labor peace with pilots is a top priority.
While AMR and its pilots continue to negotiate, the pilots have said they support a merger with US Airways. They have also said they already have a tentative labor deal in place with US Airways.
The case is In re AMR Corp et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463.
DALLAS --?American Airlines is offering double-mile promotions as a way of apologizing for recent delays and cancellations.
The airline announced the offer under its AAdvantage program on Friday. One will run through Dec. 31, the other around Thanksgiving.
"Our recent operating performance was not up to our standards ... and for that, we are deeply sorry," Suzanne L. Rubin, president of the airline's AAdvantage frequent-flier program, said in a message to customers.
In September, American canceled nearly 1,400 flights, and only 59 percent of its flights arrived on time compared with at least 85 percent at rivals Delta, Southwest and US Airways, according to tracking service FlightStats.com. The airline, which imposed pay and benefit cuts for pilots in early September, accused some pilots of conducting an illegal work slowdown.
American announced two offers:
Elite-level customers, who start at 25,000 miles in a year, will get double miles through Dec. 31.
Other passengers will get double miles from Nov. 16 through Nov. 26.
Both groups can get double credit toward elite status on flights through the end of the year.
The offers cover flights on American and regional affiliates American Eagle and American Connection but not flights operated by so-called code-sharing partner airlines.
American and parent AMR Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2011.?
Grading US presidents on the economyPublic release date: 2-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Liz Klipp liz.klipp@comm.gatech.edu 404-894-6016 Georgia Institute of Technology
Reagan and Clinton rate best among recent presidents
During presidential campaigns, it's not unusual to hear candidates from both parties say they will focus on strengthening the nation's economy. But how well have presidents delivered on that promise once in the White House?
On a newly-released report card that grades presidents on their economic performance, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding and Rutherford B. Hayes are at the top of the class, while Chester Arthur, Herbert Hoover and Martin Van Buren receive failing grades.
The first-of-its-kind study by the Georgia Institute of Technology analyzed up to 220 years of data to estimate an economic "grade point average" for presidents who served from 1789 to 2009. The research, conducted by Mark Zachary Taylor, assistant professor in Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, appears in the October edition of PSPolitical Science & Politics.
On Taylor's report card, William McKinley and Millard Filmore round out the top five, and founding father George Washington still makes the honor roll with a grade of A-. Notable presidents such as John Adams, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy rank slightly lower in the A-/B+ range. Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan are the best-rated recent presidents, earning a grade of B.
Most existing presidential ranking systems tend to be clouded by partisan bias, subjective judgments and other aspects of presidential performance, Taylor said. This economic ranking system is based on objective, statistical data and is meant to be a serious way to gauge presidential economic performance.
"Put simply, if 'it's the economy, stupid,' then we need to make stronger efforts to properly judge economic performance and to assign credit and blame where they are most deserved," Taylor said. "These rankings are meant to constitute a scientific step in this direction."
Taylor analyzed data from the Measuring Worth Project at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He then graded the presidents individually using the traditional A-F (4-0 point) scale based on how well each performed in eight economic areas such as unemployment, inflation, interest rates, stock market returns and currency strength.
The professor used multiple and competing statistical measurements, ranking algorithms and time lags to ensure the data was unbiased. No historical or ethical judgments were used to adjust the findings.
Taylor's objective approach yielded some surprises, such as the high ranking of presidents who traditionally have been poorly regarded including Harding, Hayes and Fillmore. Also some national heroes Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson each receive a D for poor economic performance.
"It makes sense when you dig into the history," Taylor said. "In the case of Lincoln, to fight a war, you have to print money and go into debt. That's bad for the economy in the long run, but sometimes there are more important things than the economy, such as staying united as one nation."
Taylor also found correlations between the characteristics of presidents and their economic performance. For example, presidents who have been good for the U.S. economy tend to belong to pro-business political parties, work with a Congress in which only one house is dominated by their same party, serve during wartime and were raised in middle-class environments.
Presidents with below average economic performance often belong to parties that are relatively pro-farmer, pro-laborer or pro-consumer. They tend to enter a single-party federal government in which one congressional house flipped parties, and they typically were raised in lower-class environments, the research shows.
Interestingly, presidential economic performance did not correlate with the person's pre-political career, birth order, historical "greatness" or whether he was a "dark horse" versus a well-vetted president, Taylor said.
Taylor cautions that these findings refer to the past performance of a group and cannot be applied to the 2012 election to predict whether Republican nominee Mitt Romney or U.S. President Barack Obama would be better for the economy. The study also did not include President Obama's first term because it is not completed and the data will not be available until 2015, Taylor said.
What the research does suggest is that a president can affect the economy, even though the executive branch may appear on paper to have a limited role.
"It is tempting to dismiss these rankings as the product of dumb luck: getting elected at the top or bottom of the business cycle," Taylor said. "Randomness surely plays some role in these rankings, but presidents also bear responsibility for making their own luck."
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Grading US presidents on the economyPublic release date: 2-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Liz Klipp liz.klipp@comm.gatech.edu 404-894-6016 Georgia Institute of Technology
Reagan and Clinton rate best among recent presidents
During presidential campaigns, it's not unusual to hear candidates from both parties say they will focus on strengthening the nation's economy. But how well have presidents delivered on that promise once in the White House?
On a newly-released report card that grades presidents on their economic performance, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding and Rutherford B. Hayes are at the top of the class, while Chester Arthur, Herbert Hoover and Martin Van Buren receive failing grades.
The first-of-its-kind study by the Georgia Institute of Technology analyzed up to 220 years of data to estimate an economic "grade point average" for presidents who served from 1789 to 2009. The research, conducted by Mark Zachary Taylor, assistant professor in Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, appears in the October edition of PSPolitical Science & Politics.
On Taylor's report card, William McKinley and Millard Filmore round out the top five, and founding father George Washington still makes the honor roll with a grade of A-. Notable presidents such as John Adams, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy rank slightly lower in the A-/B+ range. Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan are the best-rated recent presidents, earning a grade of B.
Most existing presidential ranking systems tend to be clouded by partisan bias, subjective judgments and other aspects of presidential performance, Taylor said. This economic ranking system is based on objective, statistical data and is meant to be a serious way to gauge presidential economic performance.
"Put simply, if 'it's the economy, stupid,' then we need to make stronger efforts to properly judge economic performance and to assign credit and blame where they are most deserved," Taylor said. "These rankings are meant to constitute a scientific step in this direction."
Taylor analyzed data from the Measuring Worth Project at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He then graded the presidents individually using the traditional A-F (4-0 point) scale based on how well each performed in eight economic areas such as unemployment, inflation, interest rates, stock market returns and currency strength.
The professor used multiple and competing statistical measurements, ranking algorithms and time lags to ensure the data was unbiased. No historical or ethical judgments were used to adjust the findings.
Taylor's objective approach yielded some surprises, such as the high ranking of presidents who traditionally have been poorly regarded including Harding, Hayes and Fillmore. Also some national heroes Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson each receive a D for poor economic performance.
"It makes sense when you dig into the history," Taylor said. "In the case of Lincoln, to fight a war, you have to print money and go into debt. That's bad for the economy in the long run, but sometimes there are more important things than the economy, such as staying united as one nation."
Taylor also found correlations between the characteristics of presidents and their economic performance. For example, presidents who have been good for the U.S. economy tend to belong to pro-business political parties, work with a Congress in which only one house is dominated by their same party, serve during wartime and were raised in middle-class environments.
Presidents with below average economic performance often belong to parties that are relatively pro-farmer, pro-laborer or pro-consumer. They tend to enter a single-party federal government in which one congressional house flipped parties, and they typically were raised in lower-class environments, the research shows.
Interestingly, presidential economic performance did not correlate with the person's pre-political career, birth order, historical "greatness" or whether he was a "dark horse" versus a well-vetted president, Taylor said.
Taylor cautions that these findings refer to the past performance of a group and cannot be applied to the 2012 election to predict whether Republican nominee Mitt Romney or U.S. President Barack Obama would be better for the economy. The study also did not include President Obama's first term because it is not completed and the data will not be available until 2015, Taylor said.
What the research does suggest is that a president can affect the economy, even though the executive branch may appear on paper to have a limited role.
"It is tempting to dismiss these rankings as the product of dumb luck: getting elected at the top or bottom of the business cycle," Taylor said. "Randomness surely plays some role in these rankings, but presidents also bear responsibility for making their own luck."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup. Okay so this is the post about what you think if each character.
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[right][img]Insert pic of character here[/img][/right] [center][size=300]Full Name Here[/size][/center] [center][i]3 words that describe the character[/i][/center] [center][i]Quotes from the character[/i][/center] [center]? = romantic || ?= friends || ? = enemies || ? = neutral[/center]
[u]Name of character your writing about[/u] Write what you think about the character and put any of the symbols above: ? ? ?
Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect.It means you have decided to see beyond the imperfections.
Johnathan Hills ? Where pretty good friends and honestly your hair makes me smile it is so cool. Though we are definitely different kind of people. You tend to be annoying when you think everything is a joke, but maybe that?s because not everything is a joke in my world so it is hard to see it through your eyes.
Hannah Phelps ? I don?t get what I ever did to you to make you so mean to me. I didn?t think I ever did anything to you. But I guess since your rich and get everything you want you think that it is okay just to be mean to people to be mean.
Lucy Saunders ? I don?t really know you. I mean I know that you are Hannah?s friend and can?t stand me as much as Hannah but honestly I barely know you. Though I?ve seen you in the halls you push people down to get what you want.
Philip Roe ?/? As much as I like you I can?t stand you too. You are so typical popular guy that plays football and has the perfect girlfriend. But I guess I also see something in you and that?s why I like you so damn much too.
youloveme?
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The Supreme Court is scheduled to decide four intellectual property cases this term:
Bowman v. Monsanto (patent exhaustion in second generation of GM seeds)
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (international copyright exhaustion)
Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc. (impact of limited covenant-not-to-sue on declaratory judgment jurisdiction in trademark law)
Gunn v. Minton (whether legal malpractice claims arising out of representation in a patent dispute should be heard by the Federal Circuit)
There are several more pending petitions for certiorari. The most notable of these is Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) v. Myriad Genetics (patentability of isolated but naturally occurring human DNA). A second important pending petition is Retractable Technologies, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson and Co. (de novo review of claim construction). More than a dozen other petitions have been filed or are likely within the next two months.
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Public release date: 2-Nov-2012
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