The Tribune Co., which continues to operate under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announced that it is going to try to fill its newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, without using any content from the Associated Press during the week of November 8. by David Weir

The Tribune Co., which continues to operate under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announced that it is going to try to fill its newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, without using any content from the Associated Press during the week of November 8. by David Weir

Tribune Company ( NYSE: TRB) has completed its going-private transaction and will operate under the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Tribune ESOP) with Chicago real estate investor Sam Zell, who financed the $8.2 billion buyout, taking on the roles of chairman of the board and CEO. Zell added $65 million on top of his initial investment of $250 million, which brought his total investment up to $315 million. The deal appeared to be briefly held up; according to reports, bankers were concerned about losing money due to increasingly unstable credit markets and were scouring company records before committing to fund the transaction. Release Update:  C

Sam Zell didn’t wast any time as the new chairman and CEO of Tribune Company, ( NYSE: TRB) hiring two senior execs and adding five directors to the board: -- Broadcasting vet Randy Michaels, formerly CEO of Clear Channel, ( NYSE: CCU) joins as EVP and CEO of Interactive and Broadcasting, while Gerald A. Spector, becomes EVP and chief administrative officer. Both report directly to Zell.  Michaels “will oversee the operations and growth strategies of a national network that includes 23 local television stations and more than 50 websites.” Michaels most recently was CEO of Local TV, LLC, the company that acquired NYTCO’s TV stations. -- New board members include Maggie Wilderotter, chairman and chief executive officer of Citizens Communications, also on Yahoo’s ( NSDQ: YHOO) board; Jeffrey S. Berg, 60, chairman and CEO, International Creative Management, Inc.; Brian L. Greenspun, 61, chairman and CEO of The Greenspun Corporation, president and editor of the Las Vegas Sun; Frank Wood, CEO, Cincinnati VC firm Secret Communications; William Pate, chief investment officer, Equity Group Investments, LLC. The archived streaming video of Zell’s press conference is here. Release/press kit. 

Tribune Company ( NYSE: TRB) has completed its going-private transaction and will operate under Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Tribune ESOP) with Chicago real estate investor Sam Zell, who financed the $8.2 billion buyout, taking on the roles of chairman of the board and CEO. Zell added $65 million on top of his initial investment of $250 million, which brought his total investment up to $315 million. The deal appeared to be briefly held up after reports that bankers were concerned about losing money due to increasingly unstable credit markets and were scouring company records before committing to fund the transaction. Release -- FitzSimons To Step Down: As we said yesterday, Dennis FitzSimons, the Tribune’s chairman and CEO, submitted his resignation and said he will leave at the end of this year. He will remain a member of the board. More to come

In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009.[More...]

In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009. According to Bankruptcydata.com, there have been 156 “major” filings thus far in 2009. Assuming that bankruptcies are equally distributed throughout the year, this puts us on pace for 312 bankruptcies. That is tracking well shy of my prediction. In fact, bankruptcies were down significantly from Q1 to Q2, as there were 90 bankruptcies in the first quarter but only 66 in the second. That stylized fact begs the question: Is that a “green shoot”[More...]

This is another post I originally ran on Naked Capitalism last month. As you know, I have turned more positive about the potential for a cyclical economic recovery. However, I am unchanged regarding much of the sentiment expressed in this post - that any upturn must be considered with suspicion because the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. and global economies remain poor (See my post on macro disequilibria to see why). My personal view at this time is that we will get a rebound of uneven quality, the prospect of which will be supportive of financial markets.[More...]

In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2008) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009. According to Bankruptcydata.com, there have been 90 “major” filings thus far in 2009. Assuming that bankruptcies are equally distributed throughout the year, this puts us on pace for 360 bankruptcies. I fully expect the filing pace to quicken as the year goes on, and as the economy continues to deteriorate. Below you can find an updated list of what I see as the “noteworthy” bankruptcies of 2009, as reported by <a[More...]

Here is the list:

UPGRADES
PS Business Parks PSB KeyBanc Capital Mkts Underweight » Hold
Home Prop of NY HME KeyBanc Capital Mkts Hold » Buy
Watsco WSO BB&T Capital Mkts Hold » Buy
Buckeye Partners BPL SMH Capital Sell » Neutral
Applied Signal APSG BB&T Capital Mkts Underweight » Hold
Verint Systems VRNT Lehman Brothers Equal-weight » Overweight
American Medical AMMD Piper Jaffray Neutral » Buy
Corel CREL Piper Jaffray Neutral » Buy
GSI Commerce GSIC Piper Jaffray Neutral » Buy
Take-Two TTWO Citigroup Hold » Buy
NYMEX NMX Deutsche Securities Hold » Buy
Amdocs DOX Cantor Fitzgerald Hold » Buy
Celera Genomics CRA JMP Securities Mkt Perform » Mkt Outperform
Blue Nile NILE Citigroup Hold » Buy
Agrium AGU CIBC Wrld Mkts Sector Perform » Sector Outperform
Maxim Integrated MXIM Citigroup Hold » Buy
Plantronics PLT Robert W. Baird Neutral » Outperform

DOWNGRADES
Kingsway Fin KFS Ferris Baker Watts Neutral » Sell
Force Protection FRPT Dougherty & Company Buy » Neutral
United Dominion UDR KeyBanc Capital Mkts Buy » Hold
SL Green Rlty SLG KeyBanc Capital Mkts Buy » Hold
Post Properties PPS KeyBanc Capital Mkts Hold » Underweight
First Potomac Realty FPO KeyBanc Capital Mkts Buy » Hold
Mack-Cali Realty CLI KeyBanc Capital Mkts Buy » Hold
AvalonBay AVB KeyBanc Capital Mkts Hold » Underweight
Diebold DBD Wedbush Morgan Buy » Hold
Darden Restaurants DRI Banc of America Sec Buy » Neutral
Tribune TRB Deutsche Securities Buy » Hold
Tecumseh Prods TECUA Robert W. Baird Outperform » Neutral
Golden Telecom GLDN JP Morgan Overweight » Neutral
BP BP JP Morgan Overweight » Neutral
Grant Prideco GRP Banc of America Sec Buy » Neutral
Exelon EXC Jefferies & Co Buy » Hold

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