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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Victory! Grand Canyon Protected from New Uranium Mining!
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Monday, January 9, 2012
No More Twinkies?
Hostess Brands Preparing for Chapter 11 Filing
By MIKE SPECTOR And JULIE JARGON
Hostess Brands Inc. is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter, a move that would mark the second significant court restructuring for the Twinkie and Wonder Bread baker in the past several years.
The privately held Irving, Texas, company, which employs roughly 19,000 people and carries more than $860 million in debt, has been facing a cash squeeze amid high labor costs and rising prices for sugar, flour and other ingredients, according to people familiar with the matter. Those costs together have proved higher than the company's roughly $2.5 billion in annual sales, creating losses and cash shortfalls, they said.
Hostess also currently owes more than $50 million to vendors, which have been demanding payments on shortened timeframes after delivering goods because of Hostess's financial condition, one of the people said.
Hostess's filing would mark what's known as a "Chapter 22" in restructuring circles, since the company had already sought bankruptcy protection once before. Hostess, before called Interstate Bakeries Corp., slashed debt and costs during a four-year stint in bankruptcy court that began in 2004. The company has struggled since emerging from bankruptcy proceedings in February 2009.
The company's private-equity owner, Ripplewood Holdings, invested $40 million in Hostess last year to no avail. Hedge funds Monarch Alternative Capital, Silver Point Capital and others loaned the company $20 million late last year, but Hostess continues to have cash problems.
Hostess has lined up around $75 million in so-called debtor-in-possession financing to keep the company afloat during bankruptcy proceedings, the people said. Monarch, Silver Point and some other investors have agreed to extend the bankruptcy financing, with an option for other senior creditors to provide parts of the loan, the people said.
Once in bankruptcy court, Hostess will try to reduce debt and renegotiate labor contracts, many of them with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, the people said. Hostess plans to file court papers soon threatening to reject or modify labor contracts under applicable bankruptcy rules, the people said. Such moves provide troubled companies a bargaining chip to try and get concessions from unionized workers.
A Teamsters spokesman declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Hostess's other main union didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sales of Hostess's signature Twinkies have recently declined a bit while the overall bakery snacks category has been about flat. Nearly 36 million packages of Twinkies were sold in the year ending Dec. 25, down almost 2% from a year earlier, according to data from SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm. The data captures sales from supermarkets, drugstores, mass-market retailers and convenience stores, but excludes sales from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and club stores.
Even so, Hostess has had trouble attracting consumers who have migrated away from white bread to whole grains and other healthier foods. Hostess released a whole-grain bread called Nature's Pride, but it hasn't sold well amid a small presence on shelves.
In addition, Hostess kept prices relatively high, making it harder to charge even more as costs for ingredients and fuel rose.
Hostess's bankruptcy filing would join the ranks of other companies forced to seek bankruptcy protection a second time in recent years. Between 2007 and 2011, more than 50 companies commenced "Chapter 22" bankruptcy cases, according to the most-recent data compiled by Edward Altman, a New York University finance professor.
One of Hostess's challenges will be to avoid liquidation, the fate of some other companies seeking bankruptcy protection a second time. In the past several years, for instance, Hollywood Video chain owner Movie Gallery Inc. and Polaroid Corp. have gone out of business after seeking bankruptcy protection a second time.
Others have survived multiple bankruptcies, including auto supplier Hayez Lemmerz International and Pliant Corp., a packaging company acquired after its second reorganization.
One sticking point for the baker: It pays about $100 million a year into so-called multi-employer pension plans that cover workers at a wide array of companies, the people said. Hostess, whose pension plan is underfunded by about $2 billion, wants to rescind its obligations to that plan and start paying into a plan that only covers its own workers, one of the people said.
Overall, Hostess carries hundreds of separate labor contracts that the company believes imposes cost burdens, people familiar with the matter said; the company also wants to reduce benefits costs.
The company also hopes that in bankruptcy it can attract new capital to bring production and distribution operations up to date, one of the people said.
Interstate Baking Co., the name Hostess used to go by long ago, was formed in 1930. Some brands Hostess still sells, including Drake's cakes, predate the company. In its infancy, the company made loaves of bread for grocery stores to sell.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the company grew by acquiring several other baking outfits across the U.S. By 1995, the company had changed its name to IBC, and purchased its largest rival, Continental Baking Co., for $330 million, maker of Wonder Bread.
Hostess is being advised by law firm Jones Day and financial services firm Perella Weinberg Partners. Hostess creditors are being advised by investment bank Lazard Ltd.
The Gingrich Jobs and Growth Plan
My commentary first:
Dave Peatfield January 09, 2012
The Gingrich Jobs and Growth Plan
OTHER VIDEO'S OF INTEREST:
(Be informed and make an informed decision in 2012 our country's future depends on it!)
Gingrich takes on Romney in NH debate
Newt Gingrich on New Hampshire, South Carolina and Mitt Romney
Newt Gingrich Mocks President Obama-Hilarious!
Dave Peatfield January 09, 2012
As a solid Independent in the State of New Hampshire, it is a deliberate choice I have made and not indecision that led me there. I listen to all candidates very carefully and choose my future by having all the facts necessary to make an informed choice! Committing ones self to one party is narrow minded and not always the best choice in all instances.
Our country has been dramatically impacted by the divided thought process of going with the "best argument" instead of the right agreement. Working together is the foundation of every success story, and our nation is far from a success story at this moment in history. I believe we have lost our focus on "one nation."
A contract with America is a sound plan. Hold Senator's and Congressional Leader's accountable for their actions and work from a PLAN instead of a personal agenda. When a business is deviating from it's goals a critical path is developed to help steer it in the right direction. A set of common goals is what our country needs to be successful. After all, you and I have plans and goals that need to be met in our careers and everyday lives, why shouldn't the people that govern us be monitored and measured to an acceptable standard of a passing grade or lay THEM off. It is high-time they be held accountable for their actions on a daily basis.
Put the pledge of allegiance back into our schools before our children forget it as well.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
I pledge! Do you?
- Dave Peatfield
The Gingrich Jobs and Growth Plan
America only works when Americans are working. Newt has a pro-growth strategy similar to the proven policies used when he was Speaker to balance the budget, pay down the debt, and create jobs. The plan includes:
- Stop the 2013 tax increases to promote stability in the economy. Job creation improved after Congress extended tax relief for two years in December. We should make the rates permanent.
- Make the United States the most desirable location for new business investment through a bold series of tax cuts, including: Eliminating the capital gains tax to make American entrepreneurs more competitive against those in other countries; Dramatically reducing the corporate income tax (among highest in the world) to 12.5%; Allowing for 100% expensing of new equipment to spur innovation and American manufacturing; Ending the death tax permanently.
- Move toward an optional flat tax of 15% that would allow Americans the freedom to choose to file their taxes on a postcard, saving hundreds of billions in unnecessary costs each year. This optional flat tax system will preserve deductions on charitable giving and home ownership, and create a new personal deduction of $12,000 for every American. This deduction is well above the current poverty level, ensuring that this new system does not unfairly target the poor.
- Strengthen the dollar by returning to the Reagan-era monetary policies that stopped runaway inflation and reforming the Federal Reserve to promote transparency.
- Remove obstacles to job creation imposed by destructive and ineffective regulations, programs and bureaucracies. Steps include: Repealing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which did nothing to prevent the financial crisis and is holding companies back from making new investments in the U.S; Repealing the Community Reinvestment Act, the abuse of which helped cause the financial crisis; Repealing the Dodd-Frank Law which is killing small independent banks, crippling loans to small businesses and crippling home sales; Breaking up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, moving their smaller successors off government guarantees and into the free market; Replacing the Environmental Protection Agency with an Environmental Solutions Agency that works collaboratively with local government and industry to achieve better results; and Modernizing the Food and Drug Administration to get lifesaving medicines and technologies to patients faster.
- Implement an American energy policy that removes obstacles to responsible energy development and creates jobs in the United States.
- Balance the budget by growing the economy, controlling spending, implementing money saving reforms, and replacing destructive policies and regulatory agencies with new approaches.
- Repeal and replace Obamacare with a pro-jobs, pro-responsibility health plan that puts doctors and patients in charge of health decisions instead of bureaucrats.
- Fundamental reform of entitlement programs with the advice and help of the American people. Read an extended white paper on this here.
(Be informed and make an informed decision in 2012 our country's future depends on it!)
Newt Gingrich on New Hampshire, South Carolina and Mitt Romney
Newt Gingrich Mocks President Obama-Hilarious!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
America vs Big Oil
Sierra Club 85 Second St. San Francisco, CA 94105 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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