| Whatever
your view may be of the economy, it is prudent
to have contingency plans in hand to meet adverse
market conditions Lloyd Benton & Taylor, LLC
is a corporate debt restructuring company based
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If you are in the
need of debt restructuring, contact
us today for an initial consultation.
Roderick J. Lloyd
President
Lloyd, Benton & Taylor, LLC
04-04-08 Fort Lauderdale - "The storm clouds are gathering...
And you need to be prepared. You are invited to come and talk to us now to assist you in your future plans"...Roderick J. Lloyd (President, Lloyd, Benton & Taylor, LLC)
. . . . .
04-02-08 Washington DC - 'RECESSION'
Employers slashed 80,000 jobs in March
Employers worried about recession slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years and the third straight month of losses. At the same time, the national unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent, the clearest signal yet that the economy might already be contracting. The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department Friday, underscored the damage that a trio of crises _in the housing, credit and financial sectors - has inflicted on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole. The unemployment rate was the highest since September 2005, when significant job losses followed the devastating blows of Gulf Coast hurricanes. Job losses were widespread in March. Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and various business services all racked up losses. That overwhelmed gains elsewhere, including in education and health care, leisure and hospitality as well as in government. The new employment figures were much weaker than economists were expecting. They were anticipating a drop of 50,000 payroll jobs and the unemployment rate to rise to 5 percent.
. . . . .
04-02-08 Washington DC - 'RECESSION'
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, acknowledged that, "the United States could reel into recession from the powerful punches of housing, credit and financial crisis."
. . . . .
03-31-08 THE BANKS
Associate Editor of Barron's, Michael Santoli, commenting on their leading article, 'Have the Banks Hit Bottom?', admitted, ".there is too much hope out there; even the banks are throwing in the towel by unloading stock at these depressed levels.
. . . . .
09-13-07 Bankruptcies
A huge 50% increase in Business Bankruptcies was recorded for the first 6 months of 2007, when compared with same period last year. The total corporate filings for the first half of 2007 were 11,563.
. . . . .
08-21-2007 Financial job cuts soar on housing woes
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A deepening U.S. housing slump has caused an alarming surge in job losses at U.S. financial services companies, and the end is nowhere in sight, consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said on Tuesday.
The industry has announced 87,962 job cuts so far this year, 75 percent more than the 50,327 recorded for all of 2006, Challenger said. Nearly one-fourth of this year's cuts have been announced in August alone.
Of this year's cuts, 35,830, or 41 percent, were tied to housing market troubles, including riskier sub-prime mortgages. Job cuts by real estate and construction firms totaled 21,620, more than twice the number for all of 2006, Challenger said.
"Many companies expected the mortgage situation to implode; they've just been wondering when the bubble would burst," Chief Executive John Challenger said in an interview. "But many are stopping on a dime, shutting down operations.
"Companies are not surprised by what's happening, but the reality of the situation and the speed with which it occurred is shocking," Challenger added. He said it could be months before housing-related job cuts peak.
In the last week, investment bank Bear Stearns, credit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp and mortgage lenders Countrywide Financial Corp and First Magnus Financial Corp announced 8,640 mortgage-related job cuts, Challenger said.
Another 2,400 cuts were announced by SunTrust Banks Inc as part of the bank's existing cost-cutting program.
Many companies exposed to the housing market have struggled with rising delinquencies and foreclosures as mortgage rates have reset higher and housing price appreciation has slowed.
Meanwhile, credit conditions have tightened as investors have grown unwilling to buy home loans once thought safe, starving many lenders of cash they need to operate normally. Dozens of mortgage lenders have quit the industry this year.
April has been the year's busiest month for financial job cuts, Challenger said. That month, companies announced 33,789 cuts, including 17,000 by Citigroup Inc and 3,200 by bankrupt mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp.
Job cuts are mounting as credit losses widen.
On Tuesday, the government's Office of Thrift Supervision said troubled assets, or loans at least 90 days past due, rose at savings and loans it regulates to $14.2 billion in the second quarter from $9.5 billion a year earlier.
Meanwhile, home foreclosure filings in July surged 93 percent from a year earlier and rose 9 percent from June, to 179,599, according to a Tuesday report by research firm RealtyTrac.
John Challenger said it's understandable for mortgage workers to feel whipsawed. Countrywide, for example, cut 500 jobs last week after having added 6,931 jobs from January to July, with increases in every calendar month.
"It's devastating (for morale)," he said. "It's hard to keep morale up, given the boom-bust nature of the mortgage sector."
. . . . .
09-21-2006 Deepening Insolvency – Widening Controversy
Fort Lauderdale, Florida - September 21, 2006
The claim of deepening insolvency – where officers, directors, lenders, accountants, auditors or other parties are held responsible for wrongfully prolonging the life of a company – continues to be a lightening rod of controversy for bankruptcy courts.
New decisions coming out of Delaware and the Third Circuit reject deepening insolvency as a cause of action, yet dozens of cases at both state and federal levels continue to claim the defendants either negligently or fraudulently extended the life of a business, causing damage to creditors or other interest holders. Is there a legal dividing line between trying to save a troubled company versus making the situation worse?
This ‘grey’ area of the law is a minefield and many well intentioned company officers may well fall foul of this aspect of Bankruptcy Law. The combination of the tighter Bankruptcy provisions of 2005 and, now, the issues surrounding the undue extension of company life – yet to be defined – mean that more than ever any company should take a long look before filing for any chapter of Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is swiftly becoming an act of last resort.
The message here is twofold:
1. At the first sign of trouble ahead, it is now more important than ever to engage a proven outside Turnaround Professional.
2. If your company is currently at the 11th hour, Bankruptcy may not be an option; you need to immediately contact a turnaround firm that has a proven record in conducting last minute rescues!
Roderick J. Lloyd
President & Managing Partner
Lloyd, Benton & Taylor, LLC
. . . . .
09-14-2006 Pessimism Grows: Many Corporate CFO's Are Turning Sour On U.S. Ecomony
Research Triangle Park
Many chief financial officers are turning pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy, and results will include reduced capital spending as well as cut-backs in plans to hire new workers, according to the quarterly CFO survey conducted by Duke University and CFO magazine.
In fact, CFOs are more “sour” in their attitudes than at anytime in the five-year history of the survey.
Given the generally strong performance of the economy, the results surprised John Graham, a finance professor at Duke University, and CFO magazine’s Don Dufree, who coordinate the survey.
“I was surprised,” Graham told WRAL Local Tech Wire. “We are at a five-year high in pessimism or a five-year low in optimism.”
Dufree concurred, saying in a telephone interview: “Yes, we were surprised to find that CFO optimism has fallen as much as it has” even though the attitudes are following a trend that started the last quarter.
However, Graham is not ready to predict that a recession is on the economic horizon.
“The economy is not going into the tank,” he said. “There is not a consensus. One-third of CFOs list a probability of a session, but that doesn’t mean one is guaranteed. The way I would interpret it is that we will have slower growth over the next couple of years.”
Many CFOs cited similar concerns in the survey data, which was gathered on Sept. 10.
Despite U.S. unemployment being under 5 percent and consistent growth in the gross domestic product, many CFOs said they were hearing too many rumblings from customers and other people to remain optimistic themselves about business.
“Weak consumer demand – that’s the first time we had heard that,” said Graham. Consumer confidence, and thus spending, is being hurt by interest rates, energy costs and worries about housing.
“Fuel costs apparently have worked their way through the economy,” Graham said. “Now, consumer demand is the major concern.
“The number two concern is wage inflation,” he added. “One year ago, we were not hearing that.”
The low unemployment rate is help exacerbate company’s searches for workers, which drives up bidding to hire those that are available, Graham said.
“Some sectors are having a harder time finding skilled labor, and it’s true in enough sectors that CFOs are concerned about wage inflation,” Graham explained. Two areas under stress are construction, where there are shortages of experts such as plumbers, and in high-tech, with a growing need for programmers and lab technicians, he added. The net result is a “little bit of a spiral in wage inflation,” he said.
Dufree stressed that concerns about the housing industry are fueling consumer anxiety.
“CFOs I have talked to tell me that the economy is in decent shape, but lot of them see that housing prices could be crashing,” he said. “Fuel prices are also still uncertain. Those are two issues that take dollars out of consumers’ pockets and could lead to lower consumer spending, which could hurt the economy.”
Key findings of the survey include:
- Nearly half of CFOs are more pessimistic about the U.S. economy, and only 19.8 percent more optimistic, than last quarter.
- Capital spending plans have been cut, with planned increases of only 5.1 percent over the next 12 months, down from a planned increase of 7.5 percent last quarter
- CFOs expect earnings to increase 9.4 percent over the next 12 months, down from last quarter’s 10.4 percent predicted increase
- Weak consumer demand, rising labor costs and high fuel costs could lead to additional capital spending, and hiring cuts will follow if consumer demand weakens further
- CFOs’ optimism about their own firms also fell, with 45.8 percent more optimistic about their company’s prospects, in comparison to 49 percent last quarter.
. . . . .
09-12-2006 US Trade Gap Hits a Record $68b in July
Washington DC
The trade deficit increased to $68 billion in July as record oil prices pushed America's foreign oil bill to the highest level in history, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
Through July, the deficit is running at an annual rate of $776 billion, putting the country on course to rack up a record deficit for the fifth straight year.
For July, US exports, after setting three consecutive monthly records, edged down 1.1 percent to $120 billion -- the second-highest level in history.
Imports rose to a record high of $188 billion, an increase of 1 percent from June. America's foreign oil bill climbed 4.8 percent to a record high of $28.5 billion, reflecting record oil prices in July.
The politically sensitive deficit with China declined a slight 0.7 percent in July to $19.6 billion but is still on track to exceed last year's $202 billion deficit, the highest ever recorded with a single country.
Analysts said the deficit with China is likely to rise given that the Chinese reported on Monday that their trade surplus for August set a fourth straight monthly record.
The administration is pushing China to move more quickly to let its currency rise in value against the dollar as a way to narrow the yawning trade gap by making American exports cheaper in China and Chinese goods more expensive for US consumers.
The drop in exports in July was led by a $1.2 billion decline in sales of US capital goods, reflecting declines in shipments of civilian aircraft, computers, computer accessories, and industrial machinery.
. . . . .
04-07-2006 Roderick Lloyd
Appointed to Business Advisory Council.
View
PDF.
The National Republican Congressional Committee
announced that Roderick Lloyd has been
appointed to serve on the Business Advisory
Council (BAC) in recognition of valuable contributions
and dedication to the Republican Party.
Lloyd
will serve the state of Florida and
is expected to playa crucial role in the
Party's efforts to involve top business
people in the process of government reform.
. . .
. .
02-10-2006 U.S. Trade Deficit Hits All-Time High
WASHINGTON DC - Commerce Department
The U.S. trade deficit soared to an all-time
high of $725.8 billion in 2005, pushed upward
by record imports of oil, food, cars and
other consumer goods. The deficit with China
hit an all-time high as did America's deficits
with Japan, Europe, OPEC, Canada, Mexico
and South and Central America. The Commerce
Department reported Friday that the gap between
what America sells abroad and what it imports
rose to $725.8 billion last year, up by 17.5
percent from the previous record of $617.6
billion set in 2004.
It marked the fourth consecutive year that America's
trade deficit has set a record as American consumers
continued their seemingly insatiable demand for
all things foreign from new cars to televisions
and electronic goods.
The increased foreign competition has helped
to keep the lid on prices in this country, but
critics say the rising trade deficit is a major
factor in the loss of nearly 3 million manufacturing
jobs since mid-2000 as U.S. companies moved production
overseas to lower-waged nations. Many economists
believe those manufacturing jobs will never come
back.
"Such a huge trade gap undercuts domestic
manufacturing and destroys good U.S. jobs," said
Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of labor's
AFL-CIO. "America's gargantuan trade deficit
is a weight around American workers' necks that
is pulling them into a cycle of debt, bankruptcy
and low-wage service jobs."
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said the new deficit
figure showed that "our trade policy is
an unbelievable failure that is selling out American
jobs and weakening our economy."
Last year's deficit reflected the fact that
imports rose by 12.9 percent to an all-time high
of $2 trillion, swamping a 10.4 percent increase
in exports, which reached a record high of $1.27
trillion.
For December, the trade deficit edged up a slight
1.5 percent to $65.7 billion, the third highest
monthly figure on record.
Bush, in an effort to counter the growing anxiety
over America's ability to compete with such rising
economic powers as China and India, unveiled
a new American Competitiveness Agenda in his
State of the Union address to double government
spending on basic research, extend tax breaks
for company spending on research and hire thousands
of new math and science teachers for the nation's
high schools.
But critics contend that the trade deficit will
keep growing unless the administration takes
a harder line against unfair trade practices
in low-wage countries such as China, a country
they contend has gained a huge advantage over
America by artificially depressing the value
of its currency, which makes Chinese goods cheaper
for American consumers and American products
more expensive in China.
The U.S. trade deficit with China rose to a
record $201.6 billion last year, the highest
deficit ever recorded with any country and 24.5
percent above the previous record of $161.9 billion
set in 2004. Part of that increase reflected
a 42.6 percent increase in imports of Chinese
clothing and textiles, which soared at the beginning
of the year after the removal of global quotas.
American manufacturers, arguing that the U.S.
textile and clothing industries were losing thousands
of jobs, got the administration to negotiate
a three-year agreement with China to reimpose
quotas in a number of categories.
The United States
also recorded record deficits with Japan at
$82.7 billion. Until it was surpassed by China
in 2000, Japan was the country that had the largest
trade gap each year with the United States.
America's trade deficit set records with much
of the rest of the world as well. Among those
records was a $122.4 billion gap with the 25-nation
European Union, a $92.7 billion deficit with
the nations that belong to the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a $76.5 billion
deficit with Canada and a $50.1 billion deficit
with Mexico. Canada and Mexico are America's
partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The deficit with the countries of South and
Central America rose to a record $50.7 billion
last year.
A huge 39.4 percent jump in petroleum imports,
which rose to $251.6 billion, was a major factor
contributing to last year's deficit increase.
The price of those imports rose to an all-time
high, reflecting tight global supplies. The United
States was forced to import more oil in the fall
after Hurricane Katrina caused widespread shutdowns
of Gulf Coast production.
The rising trade deficits must be financed by
increased borrowing from foreigners, who so far
have been happy to sell us their products and
hold U.S. dollars in payment which they invest
in U.S. stock, bonds and other assets. The concern
is that at some point foreigners will want to
reduce their dollar holdings. If the change occurs
at a rapid pace it could send the value of the
dollar, U.S. stocks and bond prices all plunging.
. . .
. .
12-14-2005 TDB RESEARCH
ARCHIVE REPORT: Companies with Debt
Forgiveness*
147 Companies with Debt Forgiveness in the First
Nine Month of 2005, Rapidly Increasing and
Recording the 2nd Highest in History - 39 Cases
in the Service Sector, Setting a Record-High
The number of companies receiving debt forgiveness
has been increasing. While the "Financial
Revitalization Program", aiming to cut the
bad debt in half, is in its final stage in 2005,
large financial institutions aggressively promoted
settlements by utilizing debt forgiveness. In
addition, not only the "Industrial Revitalization
Corporation of Japan" and "Resolution
and Collection Corporation" but also "funds" and "servicers" have
been using debt forgiveness much more often for
implementing business turnaround. In addition,
as more business turnarounds are expected to
be seen in local regions in the future, more
local financial institutions are likely to use
debt forgiveness for business revitalization.
Debt forgiveness has already become an established
scheme of business turnaround and its demand
has been increasing even after the peak of bad
debt settlements.
Teikoku Databank conducted research on companies
that received debt forgiveness, which include
surviving companies as well as companies that
had reorganized, dissolved, or merged after the
agreement of debt forgiveness from 1985 to September
30, 2005.
All are principally counted at the time of reaching
an agreement in debt forgiveness.
This is our 13th research effort after the most
recent one in June 2005.
. . .
. .
09-14-05 JOBLESS CLAIMS
RISE TO LARGEST AMOUNT IN NEARLY A DECADE ON
KATRINA; ENERGY PRICES SOAR
WASHINGTON, Thursday, September 14 -- A total
of 68,000 Americans lost their jobs due to Hurricane
Katrina and filed for unemployment benefits last
week, pushing these applications up by the largest
amount in nearly a decade.
The Labor Department reported that claims for
benefits rose by 71,000 last week, with 68,000
of that total attributed to layoffs due to Katrina,
which devastated New Orleans and other areas
along the Gulf Coast. That figure exceeded the
claims filed in the weeks following the Sept.
11, 2001 terror attacks, and analysts predicted
that it would be revised even higher once states
catch up with processing a flood of claims.
Meanwhile, consumer inflation surged by 0.5
percent in August as energy prices shot up by
the largest amount in more than two years, even
before Katrina hit at the end of the month. The
hurricane caused a further spike in energy prices
due to widespread shutdowns of oil and natural
gas facilities in the Gulf Coast region.
Analysts have predicted that Katrina, the country's
worst natural disaster, will trim economic growth
by as much as a full percentage point in the
second half of this year and cost around 400,000
jobs.
. . .
. .
08-22-05 Effect of New Bankruptcy
Code
A recent poll taken by the Turnaround Management
Association “TMA” found little to
like in the revised code. Simply put, the requirements
for filing are now more stringent and, once in
Chapter 11, the new arrangements weigh firmly
in favor of creditors. From October 17 this year,
the court will possess broader powers to appoint
a Trustee and convert to a Chapter 7 proceeding.
The TMA findings reproduced below underscore
the need for companies to make every effort to
restructure out of court:
“Just three months before enactment of
the revised Bankruptcy Code, many corporate renewal
professionals are still scratching their heads
as they try to determine what the impact will
be on their work with companies trying to recover
from financial distress. However, one thing is
clear – members of the Turnaround Management
Association who responded to a June 2005 TMA
Trend Watch poll give a thumbs down to many of
the provisions that they believe make it more
difficult for companies to reorganize under what
they perceive is a more creditor-friendly law.
"The new bankruptcy legislation will require
a more disciplined financial planning process
on behalf of the debtor before filing," said
Ward Mooney, chairman of the Turnaround Management
Association and president of Bank of America
Retail Finance Group in Boston. "To use
the bankruptcy process constructively, debtors
will have to be confident about their operating
liquidity and execute strategies that will ensure
enough liquidity to successfully get through
the process and emerge a stronger company."
Three major constituencies within TMA's membership
participated in this poll – attorneys,
lenders and turnaround specialists. Overall,
most respondents anticipate an increase of 10-25
percent in preemptory business bankruptcy filings
during the 60 days before Code revisions go into
effect in October 2005. They especially point
to retail, automotive suppliers and airlines
as most likely to show a significant increase
in Chapter 11 filings prior to October.
More than 70 percent of the attorneys and 60
percent of the lenders and turnaround specialists
were concerned about the negative impact of Section
365 on retail and other corporations that have
numerous real estate leases. In this Section
the time period for a company to decide whether
to keep or reject its nonresidential real property
leases changes to 120 days with one 90-day extension.
Previously, filers, particularly retail entities,
would extend the current 60-day deadline many
times, sometimes drawing out the process for
years.
"While this may have seemed to be an inordinate
amount of time to determine whether a location
was viable, it did allow for an orderly and studied
approach to rehabilitating companies in bankruptcy," said
James B. Matthews, TMA vice president of public
affairs and president of Prime Locations LLC
in Dallas. "The additional penalty for guessing
wrong on which sites to keep will definitely
result in more Section 363 asset sales, and likely
more liquidations of companies and loss of jobs."
The poll also revealed the general belief that
the revised Code favors creditors over debtors. "Some
changes such as those in 546 (c) on reclamation
are very favorable to creditors who provide goods
to debtors," said John Rizzardi, TMA's immediate
past chairman and a bankruptcy attorney with
Cairncross & Hempelmann PS in Seattle. "Creditors
no longer have to rely on their state laws. This
provision will allow vendors up to 45 days after
the debtor received goods or 20 days after the
petition date to ask for return of goods. Under
the previous Code, creditors had just 10 days
after delivery to make a reclamation demand.
In addition, the bankruptcy amendments provide
a seller of goods an administrative expense claim
for the value of any goods received by the debtor
within 20 days prior to the petition date. This
strengthens the rights of vendors; however, vendors
should become familiar with the new changes and
act promptly in any bankruptcy in order to maximize
their rights."
Section 366 elicited the most negative response,
with 75 percent overall saying its provisions
make it more difficult for a company to reorganize.
This section relates to the right of utilities
to seek "adequate assurance" of payment
from the debtor in cash or cash equivalent. In
the past, "assurance" of payment was
left undefined.“
. . .
. .
4-27-05 "Bankruptcy of
Long-Established Companies" in Japan Reached
27.3% in 2004,
setting an all time record high”
The Component Rate Jumped about 2.6 times in
the Past Decade – Is it time for many senior
US Corporations to heed these early warning signs
from Japan and take preventative action?
"A Long business history symbolizes a company's
credit" is an old myth. In February 2005,
the bankruptcy of long-established companies
(with more than 30 years of business history
since its founding) accounts for 30.2% of the
total number of bankruptcies, setting the highest
rate in recorded history (first time to exceed
30%) on a single month basis.
The major reasons for the increase of long-established
companies' bankruptcies are as follows:
1. Not capable of responding to the changes in
industrial structure; 2. Susceptible to falling
asset values caused by the bubble economy burst
as compared to newly established companies;
3. Overall aging of corporations due to the decrease
in the establishment of new companies.
[Teikoku Databank conducted research and analysis
on the bankruptcy trend of long-established companies
by business history, liabilities, sector, types
of bankruptcy, and area.]
. . .
. .
4-20-05 - CPI Report: INFLATION IS BACK!
The main problem for the stock
market is the undeniable fact that inflationary
pressures are increasing. This week, the catalyst
setting off the worst reaction to those fears
was the Wednesday report that the core rate of
CPI in March rose 0.4%. That was well above the
expected 0.2% increase, and followed on a 0.3%
February increase. These levels are up sharply
from a year ago. The release of the Federal Reserve
Beige Book later that day poured more fuel on
the fire. The trends from the Federal Reserve
districts, based on anecdotal reports, were that "upward
price pressures have strengthened" and that "high
energy prices were already, or could soon be,
damping consumer demand."
. . .
. .
March ’05 – Turnaround
Management Association
“BANKRUPTCY SHOULD BE LAST, NOT FIRST,
OPTION……
NEGOTIATIONS ARE KEY TO OUT-OF-COURT RESTRUCTURES”
“Companies fall into distress for many
reasons. When they do, management’s first
reaction often is to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
However, filing bankruptcy should be a company’s
last resort because higher returns for all stakeholders
at a lower cost can be achieved through an out-of-court
restructuring or liquidation. In addition, the
chances for a successful operating turnaround
increase without the negative publicity a bankruptcy
filing often generates. A competent turnaround
professional can assist in evaluating a company’s
position and creating a viable action plan. In
addition, an independent turnaround professional
may provide a company with badly needed credibility
when it comes to approach creditors to ask for
concessions.”
Ed Rothberg / Bankruptcy Section / Weycer, Kaplan,
Pulaski & Zuber, P.C.
“This approach has
always been the primary strategy for this firm’s
engagements”
Roderick J. Lloyd - Lloyd, Benton & Taylor,
LLC.
. . . . .
03-03-05 - Survey: CFOs
less optimistic about economy
Business optimism is dropping in the United States, according to a survey by
Duke University and CFO Magazine.
The quarterly survey asks chief financial officers from a range of public and
private companies globally about their economic outlook.
This quarter, only 46 percent of CFOs in the United States are more optimistic
about the economy than they were last quarter, continuing a downward trend from
the past year.
Fifty-five percent of CFOs had a positive outlook in the fourth and third quarters,
and more than 70 percent were optimistic in the second quarter.
"This is the least optimistic that CFOs have been in the last two years," said
John Graham, professor of finance at Duke's Fuqua School of Business and director
of the survey.
CFOs are concerned that inflationary labor costs and the depreciating U.S. dollar
will hamper economic growth. They are also concerned about the cost of health
care, the federal budget deficit, high fuel costs and an increasingly competitive
economic environment, all of which will slow earnings and capital spending growth
in the coming year.
The survey was concluded Feb. 27 and reflects responses from 534 CFOs, including
293 from the United States, 183 from Asia and 58 from Europe.
. . .
. .
02-10-05 Debt Forgiveness
the Preferred Option for Japan’s Recovery
Lloyd, Benton & Taylor, LLC
has always advocated this approach for its
clients rather than the destructive process
of signing away control of a business to
the Bankruptcy Courts. Since the Japanese
economy has been in recovery for a much longer
period than that of the USA, Japan may be
a very good model for us to follow. View
Article
. . .
. .
02-01-05-Washington,
D.C.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
(R-TX), NRCC Chairman Tom Reynolds (R-NY) and
the National Republican Congressional Committee
(NRCC) announced today that Mr. Roderick J. Lloyd
has been chosen as a 2004 Ronald Reagan Republican
Gold Medal Award winner.” View PDF
. . . . .
10/01/04 – Bankruptcies
The year 2003 showed a small improvement
with 35,057 filings. However, the figures for
the first half of 2004 already record 18,815
businesses filing for Bankruptcy protection – an increase on
the same period for the previous year.
. . .
. .
8/01/04 - Presidential Appointment.
Roderick Lloyd has been nominated to the Presidential Business Commission.
Click here for more.
. . . .
.
7/26/04
- Exide Technologies:
Blackstone Asks US Bankruptcy Court for
$9.3 Million Final Fees
The Exide Technologies Debtors employed The Blackstone
Group, LP, to provide financial advisory services in connection with a possible
restructuring of certain of their liabilities.
Our approach to the turnaround process at Lloyd, Benton & Taylor is
in sharp contrast, we do not charge for
advice, we only charge for results! [Visit LBT Home Page / 90 day
debt restructuring on 100% success fees]
. . . .
.
4/30/04 - Presidential
Business Commission Selection
NRCC Chairman Tom Reynolds announced today that Roderick Lloyd of
Fort Lauderdale has been selected to represent the State of Florida on the new
Presidential Business Commission.
View PDF Press Release
View HTML Press Release
. . . .
.
11/4/03 - Job Eliminations
Following our own 10/3/03 press release
on the subject of 'Layoffs', Chicago based recruiters
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., reported
yesterday that in October companies announced
plans to eliminate 171,874 positions, more than
double the announced September layoffs of 76,506.
Hardest hit were the automotive industry, who
planned to eliminate 28,363 jobs, followed by
the retail sector with 21,169 losses and the telecommunications
industry which plans to slash another 21,030 jobs.
Of even greater concern was a poll recently conducted
by Challenger which showed that 78% of the nation's
human resources executives did not expect to see
a significant upturn in hiring until the second
quarter of 2004. 11% of those polled said that
there would be no rebound in hiring at all in
2004!
10/3/03 - LBT Press Release
Florida Firm Offers Troubled Businesses an Alternative
to Layoffs Fort Lauderdale, Florida, October 3,
2003. Click here for more.
9/6/03 - The New York
Times
Job Losses Mount
The Labor Department announced yesterday that
93,000 jobs were lost in August - more than double
the 44,000 jobs lost in July. Not since World
War II has employment failed to grow for so long
a period even with the help of a recovering domestic
product. Compare this figure with our 7/3/03 posting
below.
8/18/03 - Bankruptcies
The American Bankruptcy Institute reports
today that personal bankruptcies have surged over
the last year, with more Americans filing for
protection than ever before, up from 1.4 million
for the year to June 30, 2002 to 1.6 million for
2003. A total of 440,257 bankruptcy petitions
were filed between April and June this year, surpassing
2003's first quarter all time record of 412,968.
The record shows that the culprit is excessive
debt based consumer spending. While at the same
time, we hear that consumer spending is reckoned
to be the 'engine' of the economy leading us out
of recession?
7/03/03 Washington DC - Economic Figures
June Unemployment Rate Highest in 9 Years
The Labor Department reported today that
businesses slashed 30,000 jobs last month. The
economic slump has now cost nearly a million jobs
in just the last three months. This has caused
the nation's unemployment rate to soar to 6.4%,
the highest level in more than 9 years.
6/26/03 - Job Market Worst Since Early 1990's.
The June 2003 survey by Manpower reveals that
three out of four employers expect to cut jobs
or hold off on hiring this summer, contributing
to the worst employment market since the early
1990's.
6/26/03 - Fed Lowers Interest Rate
The Federal Reserve has decided to cut its benchmark
interest rate by a-quarter of one percent. The
move means that the Fed funds rate goes down to
its lowest level since 1958.The Fed says the economy
has yet to show sustainable growth - on the contrary
there is now a real danger that the present economic
weakness could trigger a destabilizing fall in
prices. There is also the fear that ultra-low
interest rates may encourage consumers and businesses
to take on debt that will prove difficult to repay
when rates rise. It seems that the 1930's economy
may have crept up on us. A further 1/2% drop and
rates would match those prevailing in 1929/30.
If history is any guideline, by 1933 the prime
rate had plunged to 1.5%!
05/07/03 - Lead Story in Wall Street Journal,
New York Times and Washington Post
Fed fears falling prices and expresses concern
over deflation. This statement is almost a 180
degree turn from the Fed's position just two months
ago, do they really know where we are heading?
4/10/03 - Press Release Business Roundtable (BRT)
Economic Outlook Survey
BRT, comprising America’s leading
CEOs, released their survey today on the prospects
for the next six months. It reveals a weak economic
outlook and a continuingly pessimistic trend.
The major concerns were:
• Only 9% of US Companies anticipated hiring
new employees whereas 45% were planning layoffs.
• “Ample Capacity” coupled with
excess inventory is causing a collapse in business
spending – 27% of companies polled will
be reducing their investment spending over the
next six months.
• Projected quarterly earnings are at their
lowest levels for two years.
• Declining consumer confidence coupled
with rising costs are cited as the main culprits.
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