CMA would like to welcome the following new members:
From their website: SelectBuild, a wholly owned subsidiary of Building Materials Holding
Corporation (NYSE: BLG), currently serves 19 of the 25 largest homebuilders in
the United States, employs more than 12,000 people and is engaged in
construction on single family, multifamily, and light commercial projects,
currently generating revenue on a current annualized run rate approaching $1.3
billion.
SelectBuild's mission is to construct the highest quality projects for our customers using the most efficient process. By integrating select trades and supply chain activities, builder efficiency and product quality are optimized, and a new service segment of the industry is created. SelectBuild's services are comprehensive, providing a single point of contact for its homebuilder clients, while highlighting operational efficiency, quality control, risk management and superior customer service.
From their website: Since J. Nowak opened Craft
Construction in 1997, his vision of “a company which provides full service
construction with highly qualified craftsmen” has stayed true. While he himself
has over thirty years of construction experience, all key personnel have had
years, if not decades, in perfecting their skills.
Craft Construction Company’s reputation and clientele has grown
exponentially since 1997. The repeat business we receive is one our proudest
achievements. Clients really appreciate the fact that no matter where in the
continental United States a project is awarded, they can expect the same level
of craftsmanship from Craft Construction Company.
From their website: Atrium Companies is the largest
manufacturer of vinyl and aluminum windows and patio doors in North America. We
invite you to browse our site in order to learn more about our products,
services and culture.
In addition to our flagship Atrium Windows and Doors brand, we are also proud to offer these distinguished product brands in select markets across the country.
Referred to CMA by Bev Daniels at Integrity Window. Send in your member referrals, click here.
"The letter of credit (LC) is an obligation that banks have to your company if certain conditions set forth in the LC are met," said Robert Mercer, Esq. of law firm Powell Goldstein, LLP. "This is an attempt to isolate your company from the customer."
Mercer, a partner at Powell Goldstein's Atlanta office who practices in its Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring Group, discussed LCs and the best ways to structure them at a recent NACM teleconference entitled "Structuring Letters of Credit That Won't Leave You Stranded in a Customer Bankruptcy." Over the course of his presentation, Mercer outlined common stipulations that creditors should include as well as some that they should avoid when drafting their LCs.
Most importantly, Mercer noted, a vendor using an LC should be sure to include a Bankruptcy trigger in the LC, rather than just in the supply contract. Since the revisions made to the bankruptcy Code in the 1970s, provisions in contracts that attempt to construe a customer bankruptcy as a form of default have been unenforceable, meaning that when a customer files, the vendor is left open to preferences and placed in the running with the rest of the customer's unsecured creditors. Still, these provisions are used very frequently. "You see them in many commercial documents," said Mercer. "Put in the LC that, if the customer files bankruptcy, it's a basis under which your company can draw on the LC." In this way, when a customer files bankruptcy, under the terms of the LC, the bank is still obligated to pay your company.
"This is a really simple fix," he added. "That's a provision you want in the LC."
Mercer also discussed the importance of removing as many conditions as possible from the LC, including provisions that require a vendor to give a bank or the customer a few days notice before drawing on the LC or provisions that require the vendor to seek consent before drawing.
For more information on NACM's teleconferences, or to register, click here.
Jacob Barron, NACM staff writer
Terry Harries, CMA's 2007-2008 Board Chairman, making his outgoing speech at CMA's Annual Meeting.
The results of NACM's April survey are in:
Have you received a preference claim for less than $5,000 since the passage of the BAPCPA in 2005?
Yes: 5%
No: 95%
Participate in the May Survey:
Have you dealt with a debtor going through a “fast track” bankruptcy, the provisions under BAPCPA which allow expedited proceedings for Chapter 11 small business filings?
Home Depot Inc. said Thursday that it would close 15 stores at a cost of 1,300 jobs and scrap plans for 50 new stores as the U.S. housing slump cripples sales.
Home Depot has now announced three rounds of job cuts this year. Of the 1,300 store jobs being cut this time, 50 are managers and assistant managers. None of the stores being shuttered are in California.
Source: Bloomberg
Bedding- and home-furnishing retailer Linens 'n Things today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest major retailer to succumb to the difficult consumer environment.
It also said it will close 120 stores, almost a quarter of them in California.
Source: LA Times
A record 7,000 U.S. stores could close this year, a retail analyst predicts, citing cuts in consumer spending and retailers' struggles to borrow money and fend off competition.
"We've got a very difficult situation in the retail business," says Howard Davidowitz, an independent analyst in New York. Several retail chains have filed for bankruptcy protection and another 15 or so are "on the edge," he says.
Retailers' debt jumped 30 percent in the past year, Davidowitz says.
"Just like consumer debt is up, corporate debt is up," he says. "Everybody's debt is up. It's a real danger."
Amid a tight credit market and banks suffering from the subprime mortgage mess, retailers are having trouble borrowing. Many retailers routinely use debt to finance their inventories, but that lifeline is harder to come by, Davidowitz says.
"This is a terrible time to be dependent on bank debt and be in trouble because the banks will be unmerciful...." he says. "There are many retailers out there ... who maybe could operate OK if they got some forbearance, but it's a terrible time to be dependent on bank debt."
Other factors are working against retailers. "Americans are spending less," Davidowitz says. "They've got the highest debt they've ever had." And consumers are spending more for food and energy, leaving less for discretionary purchases.
And, he says, "We have too many stores."
"We have 19 1/2 square feet [of retail space] for every man, woman and child in this country," Davidowitz says, suggesting that's nearly double what is needed.
Chains from Foot Locker to CompUSA have shuttered stores in the past year. In 2007, 4,500 stores folded, according to Davidowitz.
"Almost everybody closed because of too much competition," he says. "What happened? Wal-Mart came along and closed them down. The consumer made a choice to choose Wal-Mart. The prices were lower, the stores were bigger...."
SOURCE: NPRA selected list of major recent retail closings:
• Foot
Locker: 274 stores in 2007
• Ann Taylor Stores: 117 stores by 2010
•
Zales: 100 stores
• Wilsons Leather: 158 stores
• Talbots: 78 Talbots
kids' and men's stores by September
• Pacific Sunwear: 154 demo clothing
stores
• CompUSA: 103 stores
• Bombay Co.: all 388 of its remaining
stores
• Sharper Image: 96 stores
• Levitz Furniture: all 76 of its
stores
Sources: Company statements and news reports.
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