Capital One Financial Corp., McLean, Va., announced that it will reduce its payroll by 2,000 workers (6% of its workforce).  The move, which will result in pretax charges of $300 million, is aimed at cutting expenses by $700 million in the next two years.  Capital One, which has been expanding its retail banking business, said that about half of the job cuts have already been enacted, with the remaining reductions to be achieved by not refilling currently open positions.

Le-Natures’ unsecured creditors’, secured lenders’ and senior subordinated noteholders’ committes filed a chapter 11 plan and related disclosure statement yesterday, BankruptcyData.com reported today. No hearing date was scheduled to consider approval of the disclosure statement, but the Court is scheduled to consider Wachovia Bank’s motion seeking an order converting the case back to chapter 7 liquidation status on June 26. The company consented to a voluntary chapter 11 filing on November 3, 2006, following the filing of an involuntary chapter 7 filing against the Company by creditors General Press Corp., Lyons Contracting, M.I. Friday and Jackel Development.

Ronco Corp. is seeking bankruptcy court approval to enter into a loan with Laurus Master Fund Ltd. so that it can stay afloat during its chapter 11 case, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The company said the loan would reduce its prepetition secured debt by $1.6 million and provide it with $500,000 in cash. Ronco owes Laurus $4.6 million under a prepetition revolving loan. Simi Valley, Calif.-based Ronco filed for chapter 11 protection on Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Woodland Hills, Calif., listing $13.9 million in assets and $32.7 million in debt.
See Also:  Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams denied the Spokane(Wash.) Spokesman-Review’s request to open sealed documents in the Spokane Catholic Diocese bankruptcy case, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The mediated settlement approved in April calls for the diocese to pay $48 million to about 150 victims of past clergy abuse at the discretion of an independent reviewer. The newspaper sought details of individual payments and the names of priests accused of abuse, some of whom may still be active in the ministry. Judge Williams cited confidentiality agreements signed by lawyers and a federal mediator for rejecting the request, even though the newspaper asked for documents with victims’ names blocked out.

Growing inventories of unsold homes continue to weigh on the U.S. housing market, portending more downward pressure on prices, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The number of homes listed for sale in 18 major U.S. metropolitan areas at the end of May was up 5.1 percent from April, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a national real estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover all listings of single-family homes, condos and town houses on local multiple-listing services in those areas. Some of the biggest inventory increases last month came in the metro areas of Seattle, up 12 percent from April; San Francisco, 11 percent; Los Angeles, 10 percent and Washington, D.C., 9 percent. Inventories also are up sharply from a year earlier. For the 15 cities for which year-earlier comparisons were available, combined inventory was up 29 percent from May 2006.

Georgia builder Meyer-Sutton Homes Inc. said that it filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday as a result of the “sudden and dramatic” decline in business, the Associated Press reported today. Meyer-Sutton listed total assets of about $44 million and debts of $40 million in its bankruptcy petition. Meyer-Sutton Homes and its affiliate Meyer-Sutton Land Acquisition Inc., which also filed for chapter 11 protection, are both owned by James W. Buchanan. “The housing market has suffered a dramatic decline in demand, with the result problems of excess inventory and compressed profit margins,” Buchanan said. According to its bankruptcy filing, the company has cut new construction starts to two per month from 25 per month. Meyer-Sutton owes its bank lenders about $26.5 million and its trade creditors $2.8 million. It’s largest unsecured creditor, Atlanta’s Stock Building Supply, is owed $1.3 million.

 See Also:  Chapter 7 Bankruptcy