Bankrupt San Bernardino halts payments to Calpers

By Tim Reid and Jim Christie

Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:51pm EDT

Oct 18 (Reuters) - San Bernardino, California, has failed to make more than $6 million in payments to the state's powerful public employee pension fund, heightening speculation of a high-stakes showdown between the fund and other creditors as the city seeks eligibility for bankruptcy protection.

Since July 31, the day before San Bernardino declared bankruptcy, the city has failed to make six biweekly employer contribution payments of more than $1 million to the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers), a city spokesperson said.

The action taken by San Bernardino is in stark contrast with two other California cities - Vallejo, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2011, and Stockton, which is seeking bankruptcy protection. Both cities decided to keep current on all payments to the pension fund.

How San Bernardino deals with its future obligations to Calpers remains to be decided, but even opening the door to negotiating payments to Calpers is significant, said Karol Denniston, a San Francisco lawyer who helped draft California's bankruptcy process law.

Calpers is the largest pension system in the United States and serves many Californian cities and counties. It has long argued that pension contributions cannot be touched, even in bankruptcy.

"This is a David and Goliath approach of taking it head on," Denniston said, referring to the halted payments. "San Bernardino has taken on Calpers without even filing a motion," she added.

Vallejo asked other creditors to renegotiate or reduce their claims, while leaving Calpers untouched. Wall Street bondholders and insurers are already challenging Stockton's eligibility to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy because it has avoided any potential clash with Calpers when it filed for bankruptcy.

Wall Street has also signaled that it intends to fight Calpers' historical primacy as a creditor in the San Bernardino case, with bond underwriters gearing up to file challenges to the bankruptcy next week.

A Calpers official confirmed the missed payments. Of the unpaid portion, $1.2 of that has been deemed delinquent because of the amount of time that has elapsed since that payment came due, the official added.

A spokesperson for San Bernardino said the failed payments to C alp ers a re "one of a number of obligations that the city has deferred due to our dire cashflow situation in order to keep making payroll to our employees and to keep paying for those materials and services that are most critical to our continued operations while the city works through its financial crisis."

"Those deferred payments will then become one of the obligations we will have to deal with later," the spokesperson added.

The city says it hopes to make the deferred payments part of a negotiated plan with Calpers that "can be added to future payments over an agreed-upon number of years."

San Bernardino is the third California city to seek bankruptcy protection this year, following Stockton and Mammoth Lakes.

The city of 210,000, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, lists Calpers as its biggest creditor, with unfunded pension obligations totaling $143.3 million. Calpers says it uses a different calculation method and pegs the debt at $319.5 million.

Its late payments to Calpers was first reported by Debtwire.

The outcome of how Calpers and bondholders are treated as creditors in Stockton and San Bernardino's bankruptcies, and whether Calpers receives preferential treatment, will have broad implications for local governments around the country that are struggling to balance their budgets amid soaring employee retirement costs.

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PHILIPPINES PRESS-Tender for shuttered Exportbank fails - Star

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ABN opens new bank capital seam with Tier 2 blow-out

Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:33am EDT

* ABN Tier 2 draws SGD17bn book despite loss-absorption warning

* Cost-saving could lure other issuers to the market

By Kit Yin Boey and Helene Durand

LONDON, Oct 19 (IFR) - The Singapore bond market could become a valuable source of liquidity for European banks seeking to bolster their capital base at attractive levels after a heavily oversubscribed Tier 2 issue for Dutch lender ABN AMRO blazed a trail for others.

The SGD1bn (USD820m) 10-year non-call five issue - the biggest for a European lender in that market - was also the first Singapore dollar bank capital deal to make reference to upcoming regulation which will see investors in subordinated debt face losses going forward.

The staggering SGD17bn order book - a record in the local bond market - stunned both the borrower and its leads, signalling that Asia was willing to support these deals at a time when European institutional investors are still wary of the asset-class.

"The market circumstances for a 10NC5 structure in Singapore dollars were favourable compared to other markets and the coupon we offered on the deal is the lowest we have offered on Tier 2 this year," said Ruud Jaegers, deputy head of investor relations at ABN AMRO.

The Sing-dollar bond pays a coupon of 4.70%, well below the 6.25% ABN offered on a USD1.5bn 10NC5 Tier 2 issue in September and the 7.125% paid on a EUR1bn bullet in July. The SGD17bn book also smashed the USD6bn for the US-dollar issue and EUR2.5bn on the euro.

The overwhelming response and the significant post-swap savings of some 55bp versus ABN's outstanding US-dollar bonds will not have gone unnoticed in Europe.

"We are having a lot of discussions not only with European financial institutions, but with European corporations, as well," said one Singapore-based debt origination banker. "They have sat up and taken notice of the edge that the Sing-dollar market has over the others."

ABN Jaegers agreed. "Given the success, I can imagine that other issuers might look at that market too," he said. "Our name recognition in the region is very good and for issuers with similar recognition it could be worth investigating opportunities given the size we were able to achieve."

PREPARING FOR BASEL

European investors have become wary of callable bank capital deals after a number of skipped call options as well as the subordinated debt asset-class after regulators imposed losses on bondholders during the crisis. However, the callable Lower Tier 2 structure remains very popular among yield-starved Singapore investors.

Aside from the city's local lenders, at least two foreign banks - Bank of East Asia and Dah Sing Bank - have sold such structures this year, following similar deals from Standard Chartered and Malayan Banking in 2011.

Like those deals, ABN's bonds have a coupon reset at the five-year point, but no step-up. However, the ABN transaction also includes a reference to the upcoming Crisis Management Directive in Europe, which will allow regulators to haircut bondholders in a resolution situation after 2015.

While it falls short of the kind of loss-absorption trigger seen on contingent capital deals out of Switzerland, the reference to upcoming resolution regimes was a first in the Sing-dollar market.

"People are just preparing for the coming of Basel 3 and adopting the new language," said one Singapore-based debt banker. "So, going forward, we are likely to see more of the new style, even if it does not spell the end of the old style just yet," she added.

ABN has raised over EUR2.7bn (USD3.5bn) in Tier 2 funds this year and also conducted a liability management on some of its T2 note last year, which transformed just over EUR1.7bn of non-eligible Tier 2 into what ABN AMRO hopes will be grandfathered.

"This is the third Tier 2 we have launched this year as we prepare ourselves for Basel 3," said Jaegers. "A large part of our old Tier 2 debt is expected to lose (partial) eligibility (next year) as it is callable with step-ups and, therefore, does not comply with the new Basel requirements."

HIGHER YIELD

ABN AMRO offered a higher yield to compensate investors for the language, even if the overwhelming response suggests that Singaporean buyers largely chose to ignore it.

"This is something we discuss extensively with investors to make them aware of pending regulations," said Jaegers.

Although some investors were concerned about exposure to the European sovereign peripheral debt issues, ABN's is modest.

CreditSights said it had EUR0.4bn exposure to Italy and Spain with another EUR1.2bn gross exposure to Greek Government-guaranteed corporations, which looked comfortable against its core Tier 1 ratio.

Its Core Tier 1 is at 11.9% with a Tier 1 ratio of 12.7% and total capital ratio of 16.2%. It aims to have a Basel III capital equity T1 ratio of at least 10% from 2013.

"There are two main things going for ABN AMRO," said a foreign debt-originations banker. "It has a long history in Singapore and investors here know the name well, and it is 100% owned by the State of the Netherlands."

However, it was the premium the Dutch bank was willing to leave on the table that was a key attraction.

Even after tightening 30bp from initial guidance to price at a yield of 4.7%, the new bonds still offer 79bp-164bp over old-style LT2 paper from lower-rated peers Bank of East Asia (A-) and Maybank (BBB+).

ABN is rated A2/A+/A+/A (Moody's/S&P/Fitch/DBRS). DBS, Standard Chartered and UBS were joint bookrunners. (Reporting by Kit Yin Boey and Helene Durand, Editing by Steve Garton)

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Solyndra presses for bankruptcy plan OK over US objection

Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:38pm EDT

* U.S. govt, Solyndra spar over tax breaks

* Investor says DOE backed plan that preserved tax breaks

* Closing arguments set for Monday

By Tom Hals

WILMINGTON, Del, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Failed solar panel maker Solyndra pressed a federal judge on Wednesday to approve its plan to end its politically charged bankruptcy over objections by the U.S. government, which argued the plan was being used by investors to dodge taxes.

Critics say government involvement in the company has cost taxpayers twice: for a $528 million government loan, and for tax breaks potentially worth $340 million that will go to venture capitalists.

Delaware bankruptcy judge Mary Walrath heard about five hours of testimony on Wednesday about the plan, which has the support of all of Solyndra's creditors aside from the U.S. government.

She adjourned the hearing until Monday, when both sides will present closing arguments.

The government might get nothing under the plan, according to court documents.

An executive of one of the venture capital firms said the Department of Energy, which guaranteed the loan, threw its support behind a key restructuring deal in February 2011 which preserved the tax breaks.

Steve Mitchell, a managing director of Argonaut Private Equity, told the court that preserving tax breaks "was very, very important" to the DOE because it gave Solyndra a better chance of survival.

Net operating losses, or NOLs, can be used to reduce future income by the amount of past losses. The bankruptcy plan allows Solyndra's parent company to exit bankruptcy under the control of Argonaut and Madrone Capital Partners. The parent company will not have any employees or operations and its main asset will be the NOLs.

Solyndra ceased operations last year and has sold virtually every asset to raise money to repay creditors.

The company argued that rejecting the plan could undermine payouts to creditors and a proposed sale of real estate, the company's most valuable asset. That sale will close next year.

The U.S. government, through the Internal Revenue Service, wants Walrath to reject the bankruptcy plan, arguing it was crafted for the impermissible reason of avoiding taxes.

IRS attorney Stuart Gibson pressed Mitchell about emails and memos that the government said showed Argonaut founder George Kaiser was keen on using the tax breaks if Solyndra failed. Some emails were sent nine months before Solyndra went bankrupt.

Gibson argued that a memo to the board of the George Kaiser Foundation, which controls Argonaut, showed the value of the tax breaks on a risk-adjusted basis would exceed their investment in Solyndra. Mitchell dismissed the memo as "sophomoric" and poorly calculated.

The company's federal loan was awarded as part of a government program to promote clean energy. The subsequent collapse sparked an 18-month investigation by Republicans who criticized the President Barack Obama's administration for failing to cut the government's losses on the investment.

Republicans at the time had accused the White House of making decisions to favor Kaiser, who was a fundraiser for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

The White House has defended the Solyndra investment, saying the Republicans investigation confirmed the decision to make the loan was "merit-based."

Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Sept. 6, 2011, as it and other solar panel companies were hurt by a flood of cheap imports from China that drove down prices.

The company filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking $1.5 billion in damages from three Chinese solar panel makers.

Solyndra's attorney told Walrath on Wednesday the lawsuit could eventually recover enough money to pay all of its creditors in full.

The case is Solyndra LLC, Delaware Bankruptcy Court, No. 11-12799.

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Commission: bankruptcy reform could mean 'starting from scratch'

Wed Oct 17, 2012 8:05pm EDT

* Commission on bankruptcy reform mulls major overhaul of laws

* Commission gathering feedback from industry leaders

* Plans report to Congress in 2014

By Nick Brown

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A commission charged with exploring bankruptcy reform said on Wednesday it may recommend ditching outdated bankruptcy laws altogether and "starting from scratch."

The Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, whose 22 members constitute a venerable bankruptcy industry Hall of Fame, on Wednesday held its first in a series of hearings to gather feedback on what is right and wrong with the statutory scheme that has governed Chapter 11 bankruptcy since 1978.

The commission's charge includes "literally considering starting from scratch and re-inventing the statute," said Robert Keach, attorney and commission co-chairman.

The group, formed earlier this year by trade group the American Bankruptcy Institute, heard feedback from lending industry leaders at the Loan Syndication and Trading Association's annual conference in New York.

It plans to eventually submit a report to Congress, targeted for April, 2014, that could serve as "part blueprint, part outline" for new legislation, Keach said.

The current bankruptcy code, which tries to balance a debtor's need to save its business with a creditor's need to recover its money, has become outdated as the investing community has grown more sophisticated and capital structures more complex, Keach said.

It was written at a time when the biggest employers were manufacturers with U.S. operations, not service companies with principal assets comprised of contracts and intellectual property, which dominate today's markets, Keach said.

"The code does not clearly provide for the treatment of such assets," he said.

Keach co-chairs the commission with fellow bankruptcy lawyer Albert Togut. Its members, all bankruptcy A-listers, include Harvey Miller, the Weil Gotshal & Manges lawyer who led Lehman Brothers through bankruptcy, and retired Manhattan bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez. Jim Millstein, the former U.S. Treasury chief restructuring officer, and Rich Levin, the Cravath Swaine & Moore attorney who helped write the original code in 1978, are also on the team.

While the code has gone through periodic modifications, most recently in 2005, this commission's ambitious charge suggests bigger changes could lie ahead.

The commission will study 13 areas of bankruptcy law, including labor & benefits issues, financing rules and government supervision. It is collecting feedback from several groups through a series of hearings, with scheduled dates at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges in San Diego on Oct. 26, and a convention of trade group the Turnaround Management Association in Boston on Nov. 3.

At Wednesday's hearing, lending industry leaders expressed measured concern that the undertaking could be read as an attempt to deter or limit the use of secured credit in bankruptcy.

The mission statement "suggests that the expansive use of secured credit has interfered with companies' ability to reorganize in bankruptcy," said A.J. Murphy, who heads leveraged finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Lee Shaiman, a managing director at the Blackstone Group's GSO Capital Partners, said major changes could "seriously impair the functioning of the capital markets and thus harm businesses both in and out of bankruptcy."

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UPDATE 4-American Airlines posts loss, but business improves

Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:57pm EDT

* Accounting charge produces net loss of $238 million

* 3rd-qtr adjusted profit 33 cts/share vs estimate 28 cts

* Flight cancellations, delays not material to results

By Karen Jacobs

Oct 17 (Reuters) - American Airlines parent AMR Corp reported a net loss for the third quarter, but excluding one-time accounting charges it posted a higher-than-expected profit as fuel costs fell and international ventures aided revenue.

The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November and is evaluating a potential merger with rival US Airways Group, took nearly $350 million in accounting charges that gave it a $238 million loss for the quarter.

Analysts dismissed that figure and focused instead on the underlying profit, which they said showed signs that American was reducing costs and attracting more high-paying customers.

"American has been very careful about how many of the least expensive seats they are selling and it looks like they've been seeing some good demand for business-class and first-class tickets especially on international flying," said Henry Harteveldt, co-founder and airline analyst with Atmosphere Research Group.

Harteveldt said American likely benefited from problems United Continental had this year when it converted to a new reservation system. United has conceded the process hurt customer service and said issues are being resolved.

Revenue at AMR rose nearly 1 percent in the quarter, despite well-publicized September flight cancellations and delays that American blamed on a slowdown campaign by pilots. The company said the disruptions did not materially affect third-quarter results.

Unit revenue, a key measure of pricing power, rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier at American and regional affiliates. The percentage of plane seats filled reached 84.7 percent, a record.

"The revenue gains ... show that American is on the right track in a difficult economic environment," said Maxim Group aerospace analyst Ray Neidl.

Still, he said, American had room for improvement, particularly in terms of operating margin. AMR reported quarterly operating margin of 4.1 percent. Neidl said he expects 9 percent at Delta Air Lines and 7.4 percent at US Airways.

Business agreements with British Airways and Iberia in the Atlantic region and Japan Airlines in the Pacific brought American more higher-paying business customers in the quarter.

"We have really been able to leverage these agreements to increase our yields by taking advantage of the distribution and selling and marketing power of our partners on the other side of the ocean," said Virasb Vahidi, chief commercial officer of American Airlines.

AMR reported a third-quarter net loss of $238 million, or 71 cents a share, compared with a loss of $162 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results included $348 million in costs tied to worker severance and the Chapter 11 reorganization.

Excluding one-time items, AMR posted a profit of 33 cents a share, topping analysts' average forecast by 5 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 0.8 percent to $6.43 billion. Operating expenses were up 0.6 percent, but fuel costs fell 3.3 percent.

American, the third-biggest U.S. air carrier, has grappled with operational problems of late. In addition to the September flight cancellations, incidents in which seats came unbolted from the floor on American flights in recent weeks raised safety concerns.

The carrier, which is currently in contract negotiations with the Allied Pilots Association union, is continuing to cancel flights through the first half of November as it looks to get operations back to normal.

The pilots union has said it called no work slowdown against the airline. It has taken a strike vote among its members but has not yet disclosed the results.

Separately, American said on Wednesday it plans to hire more than 1,500 flight attendants over the next year. It cited a big response to a recent voluntary program in which more than 2,250 flight attendants opted to leave the company.

Shares of AMR were little changed at 37 cents in afternoon trading, while those of other major U.S. airlines were mixed. Delta was up 13 cents at $10.12, US Airways was down 7 cents at $11.51, and United Continental was up 19 cents at $20.54.

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West Penn countersues insurer Highmark over broken deal

By Hilary Russ

Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:50pm EDT

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Pennsylvania's troubled West Penn Allegheny Health System on Tuesday accused insurer Highmark Inc. of breaching a $475 million merger agreement, saying Highmark tried to force it into bankruptcy to lower debt as a condition of the planned affiliation.

The countersuit is a rebuttal to an Oct. 1 lawsuit that Highmark filed in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Highmark is seeking to block West Penn from talking to other potential investors and claims that West Penn violated their contract by pulling out of the deal.

The suit by Pittsburgh-based Highmark, a top-10 U.S. health insurer, "is nothing more than an attempt to prevent West Penn Allegheny from determining what options other than bankruptcy exist," the health care system said in court papers.

"West Penn Allegheny's demise would not only irreparably harm the health system and its employees, it would also result in great harm to the community, reducing competition and health care choice and increasing costs," it said.

The heated dispute and the abrupt end to their planned alliance caused concern among all three major credit rating agencies. On Sept. 28, the same day the public learned of the collapsed deal, the agencies warned that they might downgrade the regional nonprofit health system.

About $737 million in outstanding municipal bond debt issued by the Allegheny County Hospital Development Authority in 2007 is affected by the rating agency actions.

West Penn comprises five hospitals and additional healthcare and research facilities. It had about $1.2 billion in unrestricted net assets as of March 31, but about $1.4 billion of total liabilities, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services analyst Martin Arrick.

West Penn said in court filings that it "could and would not stand still in the face of Highmark's demands to close the through a 'pre-packaged' bankruptcy filing that Highmark would control and to seek a distressed termination of its pension plans."

In response to Highmark's "unrelenting bankruptcy and debt restructuring demands," West Penn proposed a third-party joint venture and other alternatives, which Highmark rejected, West Penn said.

The health care system also claimed that Highmark "absolutely and unequivocally" was the one to reject the affiliation agreement and repeatedly told West Penn that it wouldn't consummate the transaction even if state regulators approved it.

West Penn cannot talk to other potential suitors until after a two-day hearing, scheduled to begin Oct. 25, on Highmark's request for an injunction.

In its countersuit, West Penn asked for unspecified monetary damages. It also said that because it has lost value as it tried to meet Highmark's demands over the past year, it should be allowed to recoup the difference between any eventual sale price to another buyer and what it could have received under its agreement with Highmark.

The insurer has already provided $200 million in grants and loans to West Penn.

Highmark, which is readying for major shifts in healthcare funding under U.S. reforms by assembling an integrated health-delivery network, struck the affiliation agreement with West Penn last November.

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UPDATE 10-Obama takes offensive against Romney in debate rematch

Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:15am EDT

* Obama and Romney clash over Libya killings

* Candidates circle, confront each other on stage

* Polls show race deadlocked with three weeks left

By John Whitesides and Samuel P. Jacobs

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama launched aggressive attacks against Republican rival Mitt Romney on jobs, energy and Libya in their second debate on Tuesday as the Democrat tried to reclaim the momentum in a tight White House race.

Obama was much sharper and more energetic than in their opening d ebate two weeks ago, when his listless performance was heavily criticized and gave Romney's campaign a much-needed boost in the run-up to the Nov. 6 election.

The president scolded Romney for accusing him of trying to take political advantage of the attack by Islamist militants in Libya last month that killed four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

"That's not what we do. That's not what I do as president, that's not what I do as commander in chief," Obama said during the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, calling the accusation "offensive."

"I'm the president and I'm always responsible, and that's why nobody's more interested in finding out exactly what happened," Obama said.

Romney questioned Obama's claim that he called the Benghazi attack "an act of terror" in the White House Rose Garden the day afterward, but moderator Candy Crowley of CNN corrected the Republican. Transcripts show Obama did use the term that day.

The Republican accused Obama of failing to follow through on the promises of his 2008 campaign.

In one of his stronger moments in the 90-minute debate, Romney took aim at Obama's economic record in office, saying it has led to 15 million more people on food stamps, slow growth and a lack of jobs.

"The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, 'Look, I've created 5 million jobs.' That's after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country," the former Massachusetts governor said.

Polls showed voters judged Obama the winner. A CNN survey gave him the edge by 46 percent to 39 percent, while CBS had Obama the winner by 37 percent to 30 percent.

"I think Obama won this one. I'll say I'm a Romney supporter, but I don't think he effectively got all his points," said audience member James Digirolamo, from Long Island, New York.

"I was a little disappointed how the moderator handled the debate, in particular the issue with the 'terror' remark," he said, referring to criticism by Republicans that moderator Crowley intervened in favor of Obama during the exchange over Libya.

PRIZE FIGHTERS

Both candidates roamed the stage to talk directly to participants in the town-hall format, where undecided voters from Long Island asked the questions.

At times the two men circled each other warily at center stage like prize fighters, talking over each other and bickering frequently about the rules and who had exceeded their time.

Romney confronted Obama face-to-face at one point to ask repeatedly if licenses and permits for energy drilling on federal land had been reduced during his administration.

Recent polls have put the race for the White House at a virtual dead heat just three weeks ahead of the election.

Obama seems to have stopped his slide after the last debate. In a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll on Tuesday, he gained a bit more ground on Romney for the third straight day and led 46 percent to 43 percent.

But a Gallup/USA Today survey showed Romney ahead by 4 percentage points in the 12 most contested states.

After being slammed for his passive performance in the first debate, Obama attacked Romney repeatedly this time.

He resurrected his charge that the economic proposals put forward by the former private equity executive were designed to protect and bolster the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

"Governor Romney says he's got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn't have a five-point plan, he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules," Obama said.

Romney said Obama's economic record speaks for itself.

"The president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. He's great as a speaker and at describing his plans and his vision. That's wonderful, except we have a record to look at and that record shows that he just hasn't been able to cut the deficit, to put in place reforms for Medicare and Social Security to p r eserve them, to get us the rising incomes we need."

Arguing that he supports equal opportunities for women, Romney said he once had "binders full of women" candidates for cabinet jobs when he was Massachusetts governor. The quote suggested that influential women were not part of Romney's circle and prompted a flurry of comments on social media.

The two also clashed over the Obama administration's 2009 auto bailout, with Romney saying Obama had misrepresented his position that General Motors should go into a managed bankruptcy.

"He keeps saying, you want to take Detroit bankrupt. Well, the president took Detroit bankrupt," Romney said. "You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did."

Obama responded: "What Governor Romney said just isn't true. He wanted to take them into bankruptcy without providing them any way to stay open. And we would have lost a million jobs."

The pair meet again next week in Boca Raton, Florida for their final debate, which will be on foreign policy.

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PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - Oct 17

Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:42am EDT

Oct 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Weeks before Vikram Pandit's surprise resignation on Tuesday as chief executive of Citigroup Inc, the banking giant's powerful chairman, Michael O'Neill, was privately huddling with other board members to plan how to replace him, according to several people briefed on the talks.

* 27 European data-protection agencies asked Google Inc to modify its global privacy policy that governs dozens of Google online services - including the flagship search engine, Android mobile phone apps and YouTube videos.

* After months of delay, the Spanish government is edging closer to making a decision about whether to ask for European financial assistance.

* International Business Machines Corp delivered a mixed and somewhat unsettling quarterly performance. Profits barely exceeded Wall Street's expectations, while revenue fell well below.

* Intel Corp crossed an earnings bar it lowered for itself last month, but the problems plaguing its main market for semiconductors - personal computers - seemed no closer to ending.

* Goldman Sachs Group Inc said it had a strong comeback for the third quarter of 2012, buoyed by private equity holdings that had weighed down its earnings a year ago.

* Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Margaret Ren to lead its Chinese operations, according to an internal memorandum. Ren joins the company from BNP Paribas, where she was the corporate finance chairman for greater China.

* The troubled battery maker A123 Systems Inc filed for bankruptcy, dealing a blow to the Obama administration's program to jump-start a domestic battery industry and spur development of electric vehicles.

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Bankrupt Solyndra seeks $1.5 bln in damages from Chinese peers

Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:38pm EDT

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Bankrupt solar firm Solyndra has filed a lawsuit against three U.S.-listed Chinese solar players, including Suntech Power Holdings Co, seeking $1.5 billion in compensation due to monopolization by these firms, according to court documents filed on Thursday.

The lawsuit was filed against Suntech, Trina Solar Ltd and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co claiming that the trio's panel prices moved in tandem - falling 75 percent in four years in the U.S.

Solyndra, which claims in the lawsuit that the trio were involved in predatory pricing and price fixing, filed for bankruptcy a year ago as it could no longer compete with plunging prices of solar panels imported from China.

U.S. solar companies launched a complaint last year alleging protectionism from Beijing for Chinese panel makers, sparking trade disputes between the two countries.

As a result of the ongoing tryst, the U.S. slapped steep final duties on billions of dollars of solar energy products from China earlier this week.

Defendants - Suntech, Trina and Yingli - came to the U.S. and raised money from the stock market and deployed that capital to "destroy" American solar manufacturers, said Solyndra in the suit filed in a Northern California district court.

The three Chinese companies named as defendants were not available for comment outside of business hours.

Solyndra has sold everything from its remaining inventory and assembly equipment to office computers in a bid to raise money to repay creditors.

The Obama administration came under fire for missing signs of financial trouble at the California-based Solyndra and approving nearly $535 million in loans in a bid to spark a clean energy industry and create jobs through stimulus spending.

Last year, executives from bankrupt Solyndra LLC testified that a flood of cheap Chinese solar panels kept it from realizing $1.2 billion in contracts it announced in 2008.

The lawsuit is Solyndra, LLC v. Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 12-05272.

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