In light of the continuing economic downturn, many issuers with periodic reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are or may be faced with the prospect of reorganizing or liquidating under the United States Bankruptcy Code. These issuers must file their Exchange Act reports under the strain of the bankruptcy process, which imposes practical difficulties in completing and timely filing the reports during a time when resources are limited. Can these reporting requirements be modified so that issuers can more readily satisfy them?

On Thursday, AIG announced a $4.35 billion loss for the first quarter of 2009, as compared to a net loss of $7.81 billion in the first quarter of 2008 and a net loss of $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced yesterday that it has filed civil fraud charges against several entities and individuals who operate the Reserve Primary Fund, including its founder Bruce Bent and his son Bruce Bent II, “for failing to provide key material facts to investors and trustees about the fund’s vulnerability after as

There are signs of hope in the aviation marketplace, with the slow return of financing and the apparent bottoming-out of aircraft values. Buying opportunities abound-but so do risks; and no situation is more frustrating than finding yourself "infected" by someone else's bankruptcy. Even if the market has reached its nadir, there are many companies that are simply not going to survive much longer in the market as it has been redefined.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed to amend its Bankruptcy Rules, 17 CFR Part 190, to establish cleared over-the-counter derivatives as a separate account class for the purpose of calculating “net equity” and “allowed net equity” for each customer in the event of the bankruptcy of a futures commission merchant.

On Thursday, August 6, 2009, the United States Senate confirmed Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. As a former Judge on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor’s jurisprudence includes a number of decisions involving noteworthy bankruptcy cases. This article provides a brief survey of these decisions.

On November 13, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in the Stanford securities fraud case that the appointed receiver lacked authority to “claw back” principal and interest proceeds distributed to innocent investors/creditors because they have a legitimate ownership interest in the proceeds held in the accounts. This precedent has important implications for this and other ongoing “Ponzi” scheme cases.

The Stanford Case: Alleged Multi-Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is proposing to amend its Bankruptcy Rules to permit the trustee for a bankrupt futures commission merchant to continue to operate the business of the commodity broker in the ordinary course for a limited period of time.

KENYA

Economic overview

The scope of the Bankruptcy Code's "safe harbor" shielding certain securities, commodity, or forward-contract payments from avoidance as fraudulent transfers has long been a magnet for controversy, particularly after the U.S. Supreme Court suggested (but did not hold) in Merit Mgmt. Grp., LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., 138 S. Ct.