The agency that insures pensions, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, is now technically insolvent, having taken over a number of large bankrupt pension plans in recent years.
Conseco, struggling under more than $6 billion in debt, became the U.S.'s third-largest bankrupt firm on Wednesday, as the insurer-loaner sought protection from creditors while it sells its finance unit and tries to restructure itself.
In January, after California's power managers authorized a temporary electricity rate rise to help the state's two largest, nearly bankrupt utility companies, Gov. Gray Davis said no more would be necessary to prevent rolling blackouts.
The plan left the state's largest utility bankrupt and has led to rolling blackouts in parts of the Golden State that are serviced by the California Independent System Operator, which runs the transmission grid in parts of the state.
Alabama's largest county went bankrupt in part because of huge losses on such swaps — and it turned out JPMorgan employees had paid bribes to get the business.
Aska nearly went under but escaped dissolution when its largest creditor went bankrupt itself.
Ross merged it with the world's largest denim maker, bankrupt Cone Denim, acquired last year for $90 million, forming ITG.
American Airlines parent AMR funded a supplemental pension trust for 45 senior executives last year that would protect part of their retirement income in the event of the world's largest airline going bankrupt, The Wall Street Journal said.
A Florida law prohibits any jury's award from being large enough to bankrupt an industry.
MP3.com's lawyer, Michael Rhodes, countered that a large judgment would bankrupt the San Diego-based company.
