Argentina has now staked the future of its debt, and perhaps its financial fate, with the United States Supreme Court. Yes, you read that right. Argentina wants the nine justices to weigh in on a case involving its obligations to holders of its government bonds and to resolve the mess created by a handful of federal judges, The New York Times DealBook blog reported. The roots of the case go back to 2001, when Argentina, in the midst of a severe economic downturn, defaulted on $80 billion of government bonds.

Mayer Brown note and the actual opinion.

U.S. sanctions restrictions have been eased further for U.S. and non-U.S. companies that may be interested in providing to Iran certain services, software and hardware related to personal communications. As business with Iran remains subject to myriad restrictions and stiff enforcement, companies will want to review potential new engagements with Iran in consultation with economic sanctions experts.

The latest edition of Chadbourne's International Restructuring Newswire.

In this Report: In the past month, no rulemaking requirement deadlines passed or were met with finalized rules, and no new rules were proposed that would meet rulemaking requirements. As of February 3, 2014, a total of 280 Dodd-Frank rulemaking requirement deadlines have passed. Of these 280 passed deadlines, 132 (47.1%) have been missed and 148 (52.9%) have been met with finalized rules. In addition, 201 (50.5%) of the 398 total required rulemakings have been finalized, while 110 (27.6%) rulemaking requirements have not yet been proposed.

On December 12, 2013, in a 166-page opinion, Bankruptcy Judge Allan L. Gropper of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that Kerr-McGee Corporation (“Kerr-McGee”) was liable for between $5.1 and $14.5 billion in damages as a result of various fraudulent transfers occurring several years before Tronox Inc. and certain of its affiliates (“Tronox”) filed for bankruptcy. See Tronox Inc. v. Kerr-McGee Corp. (In re Tronox Inc.), Adv. Proc. No. 09-1198 (ALG), 2013 WL 6596696 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 12, 2013) (the “Opinion”).

The January 20, 2014 temporary suspension announced by U.S. officials of some of the more recent sanctions targeting business by non-U.S. companies and persons with Iran leaves in place sanctions that apply to U.S. persons and their owned or controlled non-U.S. affiliates, as well as sanctions targeting many important sectors of Iran’s economy. Accordingly, for U.S. companies and their owned or controlled non-U.S. affiliates, the Iran sanctions landscape has not changed. Non-U.S.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act filing thresholds on January 17, 2014. The HSR Act requires annual adjustment of the thresholds based on the change in the U.S. gross national product. All thresholds will increase from the prior year.

On January 14, 2014, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held that the Bankruptcy Code’s § 546(e) safe-harbor provision neither protects against nor preempts state law constructive fraudulent transfer claims brought on behalf of individual creditors against cashed-out former shareholders of a company acquired in a leveraged buyout (“LBO”). By refusing to dismiss these claims, prosecuted by a creditor trust pursuant to a confirmed plan of reorganization, Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber’s opinion in Weisfelner v. Fund 1. (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.), Adv. Proc.

An opinion issued in connection with the bankruptcy cases of Lyondell Chemical Company and its affiliates may have significant implications for shareholders who receive payments in connection with a leveraged buyout when the underlying company subsequently files for bankruptcy. http://communicate.dlapiper.com/rs/vm.ashx?ct=24F76619D4E70AEDC1D181A4D72F9310DABE7BB3D38714DD4CF371647BF8D90DDD78036