Liquidation

Ailing Twinkies maker Hostess Brands Inc. is going toe-to-toe with its workers' unions in a courtroom clash that the company said may lead to its liquidation. Hostess is trying to persuade a federal bankruptcy judge in New York to allow it to reject existing collective bargaining agreements with the Teamsters and bakers' unions. The maker of Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, three years after emerging from its last bankruptcy.

Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, has found a new ally in his quest for lower borrowing rates and liquidity in his recession-racked country: France’s new President Francoise Hollande. A week after his inauguration, Hollande met with Rajoy at the Elysee Palace to talk policy before heading to a European Union summit in Brussels later in the day.

Giant bookseller Borders Group Inc. will begin liquidating its 399 stores nationwide, including huge sales at its 18 remaining stores in Southern California. Books, DVDs and furniture valued at more than $700 million will be discounted up to 40% starting Friday, liquidators said. The sales are expected to wrap up in September. Up to 10,700 chain employees nationwide, including 524 in Southern California, will lose their jobs after liquidation. Still up in the air is a possible sale of up to 35 locations to an Alabama company.

In preparation for the start of demolition this summer of the now-closed 936-room Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, the hotel will reopen its doors Thursday for the start of a massive sale of its furniture, plates, towels and television sets, among thousands of items in the building. Everything must go, including the kitchen sinks, which are priced at $350. "But our kitchen sinks are a little bigger than most," said Frank Long, president of International Content Liquidations Inc., the Ohio firm that is running what is expected to be a $2-million liquidation sale starting at 9 a.m. Long lines are expected.

Trans Ocean Airways, an international air charter service based in New Iberia, has fled for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and was ordered to liquidate all its assets. Bankruptcy Judge Donald Boe of Opelousas, La., ordered liquidation after owners of three planes petitioned the court to terminate their contract with Trans Ocean after Trans Ocean allegedly defaulted on lease payments.

Sigmatron Nova, a Thousand Oaks maker of electronic display panels, plans to liquidate after failing to find a buyer for the company. The company has suspended operations and said it expects to complete its liquidation within the next month. Sigmatron Nova said it expects proceeds from the liquidation to cover its outstanding debts, but that there will not be assets remaining for payment to the company's stockholders.

Eden Air Freight Inc. filed Monday for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The air freight forwarder was founded five years ago by Larry L. Rodberg, who helped start Irvine-based Burlington Air Express in 1972. When Rodberg died in 1991, his son, Larry P. Rodberg, took over as president of Eden Air Freight. Eden Air Freight has shuttled large-volume merchandise--such as clothes, computers and electronic equipment--around the world.

Levitz Furniture Inc., the home-furnishings retailer, will liquidate, with a court-appointed trustee overseeing the sale of its remaining merchandise. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber ordered the case, which began as a Chapter 11 reorganization, to be converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation, according to papers filed in his Manhattan court.

Lechters Inc., the largest U.S. specialty housewares retailer, asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to find a buyer for all the company's assets or close its 325 stores and liquidate. Competition from larger rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. forced Harrison, N.J.-based Lechters to seek bankruptcy protection in May. The company listed $128.9 million in assets and $110.9 million in debts in Chapter 11 papers filed in Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

The long-promised liquidation sale at Chandler's furnitures stores in Santa Ana and Laguna Hills did not take place as planned Friday. With thermometers hitting the 90s, a small crowd of customers waited patiently--some for hours--in front of the stores. Some, like Patty Coleman of Irvine, were just hunting for bargains. "They have some beautiful things. I thought maybe I could pick something up," Coleman said. Others, like Kaye Kaufman of Irvine, turned up in hopes that they might get some preference over the general public because they have already paid for merchandise that has not been delivered.

Lather, rinse, repeat. We all do it — usually with a liquid shampoo. But a handful of manufacturers are getting rid of the plastic bottles and the liquid and offering shampoos in solid bars that look like traditional hand soap. Canadian cosmetic company Lush makes nine formulas of solid shampoos, as well as a solid conditioner. J.R. Liggett's, in New Hampshire, makes six. And countless artisan soap makers also are capitalizing on growing customer demand for a concentrated product that has all the performance of a regular shampoo but with less packaging and fewer chemicals.

Ailing Twinkies maker Hostess Brands Inc. is going toe-to-toe with its workers' unions in a courtroom clash that the company said may lead to its liquidation. Hostess is trying to persuade a federal bankruptcy judge in New York to allow it to reject existing collective bargaining agreements with the Teamsters and bakers' unions. The maker of Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, three years after emerging from its last bankruptcy.

Acer's Liquid Glow smartphone, announced Friday, is bringing Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and a bit of an odd name to market this summer. The Liquid Glow smartphone will be detailed at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, next week, but for now, Acer says that the new handset will bring a "balance between style, performance and affordability -- ideal for today's fun-seeking, social-networking youth. " With a pitch like that, it's likely that the Liquid Glow will be a lower-cost, entry-level handset.

Shares of video game maker THQ Inc. tumbled 30% after an analyst said the Agoura Hills company might need to draw on a revolving line of credit. THQ declined to 53 cents, its lowest close since July 1995, and on a day the stock market rose strongly. The company has a $50-million revolving credit facility, according to a Nov. 9 regulatory filing. Todd Mitchell, an analyst with Brean Murray Carret & Co. in New York, said the cancellation of the uDraw game tablet has created "a liquidity crisis for the company that puts its viability in question.

A federal judge has approved a plan to liquidate the estate of Alfred J.R. Villalobos, former board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the state's biggest public pension fund. The action by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Reno, Nev., ended an 18-month bankruptcy proceeding and cleared the way for the state to pursue a fraud lawsuit against Villalobos, who the state alleges plied pension fund officials with luxury trips and gifts to influence investment decisions.

As bad as things got for Willie Nelson, at least at the end of his financial nightmare, they still called the guy Willie. That may not be the case for Nashville rapper Young Buck, who could lose his trademarked nickname in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation case, the Tennessean newspaper reported . The multiplatinum recording star, who was born David Darnell Brown, apparently owes a lot. He owes child support. He owes the IRS. And he allegedly owes more than $10 million to rapper 50 Cent and his G-Unit record label, with whom Young Buck is engaged in a nasty contract dispute.

Financially troubled Equidon Contractors, attempting to repel an onslaught of mechanics liens and lawsuits, filed for liquidation Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana. The assets and debts of the Irvine-based construction company were not stated in the court papers. However, Ken Klee, attorney for John Parker, the sole owner and shareholder of the company, said that its debts surpass its assets by "at least $3 million."

Saab no more. Saab Automobile, the quirky Swedish automaker that liked to advertise its heritage as a fighter jet producer, filed for bankruptcy Monday, ending a two-year effort to revive the business after it was spun off by General Motors Co. "Some enthusiasts in the U.S. will lament its end," said Aaron Bragman, an analyst with IHS Automotive. "Back in the 1970s and 1980s it was an innovative brand with some unusual power trains. They did turbocharging of small engines long before others did. The cars also had all-weather, good-handling capability.

Question: Please clarify the Transportation Security Administration's limitations on volume of fluids allowed in a single container to be carried onboard in the 1-quart plastic bag, which raised the issue of 3-1-1 (3 ounces, 1-quart bag, 1 bag per person). I was in Italy and wanted to bring back a vial of Modena's famed balsamic vinegar. In Europe, volume is expressed in metric, and the smallest container I could find was 100 milliliters, which is 3.3 ounces. I chose not to bring anything back.