You probably know of TaxMasters.  The company was constantly on the television advertising for tax settlement services.  I remember one commercial where the advertisement had many testimonials claiming, “TaxMasters settled my ten million dollar debt for three cents.”  Of course that is an exaggeration, but you know the type of commercials I am talking about. [Read more...]

According to an Associated Press article, the Federal Government through the Federal Housing Finance Agency is now collecting investor opinions on whether and how to begin converting the approximately 248,000 federally owned homes into rental properties. [Read more...]

A few days ago, we did a posting on a homeowner who foreclosed upon a Bank of America Branch.  The Daily Show picked up the story and here is the result:

This has to be some of the most significant news of our time.  According to the Wall Street Journal in an article found here, Standard and Poor’s has downgraded the United States triple A debt rating.  I cannot even fathom what the consequences of this action will be.  It is completely unprecedented that an economy as large and once vital as the United States has defaulted on its loans.

One thing is for certain though, interest rates are likely to be increasing for every American on everything here.  This is troubling and could possibly lead to further defaults on adjustable rate mortgages as those mortgages are reset with higher interest rates, rather than the lower ones that we have been experiencing lately.  This would further strain the ability of the average American to make their payment obligations.   All in all, this is terrible news.

On a separate note, I do have to respect the courage that Standard and Poor’s demonstrated by downgrading the United States’ debt rating.  I believe that the failure of the ratings agencies such as Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s to properly grade the businesses that led to the overvaluation of many businesses leading up to the economic collapse of 2008.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article by bankruptcy lawyer Glenn Roethler.  The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of all the members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.

Reuters reports here that there is a fascinating new study out indicating that CEOs of business wait too long to file for bankruptcy.  The thrust of the study indicates that bankruptcy is often the best way for a troubled company to reorganize and proceed forward.  This is because bankruptcy is often expensive and requires capital that, if you wait too long, may be unavailable to the corporation in its time of best use.

In my experience, this has definitely been true.  Filing bankruptcy is an embarrassing and very difficult decision, even for (and often especially for) business executives.  It implies a failure, either real or imagined, of some sort.  However, the truth is, that bankruptcy is a financial decision.  There should not be any moral judgment attached to it.  Unfortunately, creditors have perpetrated the belief that bankruptcy is a moral decision.  It’s unfortunate, because bankruptcy can help in many difficult situation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article by Tempe, Arizona bankruptcy attorney Glenn Roethler.  The views reflected by this article are not necessarily held by all members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.

The Wall Street Journal reports here that banks are trying to evade consumer protections by issuing consumers business credit cards.

All I can say is, here we go again, it appears that credit card companies are attempting to take advantage of consumers with a loophole in the laws.  The banks are calling these card “Professional Cards”, “Business Cards”, or “Small Business Cards”.  These cards do not have any of the protections afforded consumers from things such as hair-trigger interest rates increase, shortened payment cycles, or inactivity charges.  Of course, these are all things that increase what you pay for your credit card.

My best advice is to avoid any of these offers of “Professional” or “Business Cards”.  Personally, I plan on avoiding these cards, not only for myself personally, but also for my business as well.

Thank you for reading this article by Tempe, Arizona bankruptcy lawyer Glenn Roethler.  The views represented in this article do not reflect the views of all members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.

It has been two years since Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to this article, Chrysler has turned it’s first profit since the bankruptcy.  This brings two issues to mind.  First – that Chapter 11 bankruptcy can be a very effective tool for reorganizing a company.  However, even after emerging for bankruptcy, it was still a long road for Chrysler to be able to actually make it as a viable company.  It is important to keep this in mind when considering to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Chapter 11 business bankruptcies tend to have a high rate of failure with it eventually ending up in Chapter 7.

Chapter 11 is, essentially, the Hail Mary pass in the last 5 seconds of the game when you are down 7 points.  In this analogy, it means that the chance to tie the game is there, but the chance for a win is nowhere near certain.  In bankruptcy, it means that the company has a chance to break even and to continue to operate and hopefully, it emerges either making money or in a position to eventually make money, but is far from a large profit center.

The second issue is that the government financed Chrysler’s bankruptcy to the tune of $7.5 billion.  Chrysler made $116 million in one quarter (3 months).  In other words Chrysler would have to make a similar profit for 16+ years to afford to pay off the government’s $7.5 Billion loan.  This assumes that there is no interest on the loan.

The article makes the bald claim that Chrysler plans to pay off the government loans by June.  I will be quite surprised if Chrysler is able to find financing in this economic climate to pay off the loans made by the US Treasury.  Only time will tell.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article written by Phoenix Bankruptcy Lawyer Glenn W. Roethler.  The views expressed in this article do not represent all of the views held by Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC.

With some research, I found this other video regarding the theoretical economic disputes between Keynes and Hayek.  I also want to point out that both of these videos are courtesy of Econstories.  Excellent work.

The views contained in this video do not necessarily reflect all of the views held by members of Greeves, Price & Roethler, PLC. Thank you for taking the time to view the blog of Bankruptcy lawyer Glenn W. Roethler.