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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (47682)	1/15/2009 5:30:19 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

I think WFC has actually been stronger than BAC for a while, maybe they will be the last one standing.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (47682)	1/18/2009 6:53:39 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Charter Said to Hire Advisers for Possible Bankruptcy Filing By Jeff St.Onge Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Charter Communications Inc., billionaire Paul Allen’s money-losing cable-television company, hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis and investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise on a possible bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. Kirkland’s Rick Cieri is providing counsel, according to two people involved in talks on Charter’s strategy. Allen has also hired lawyers and financial advisers, people said. If the St. Louis-based company decides in favor of bankruptcy, it may file as soon as next week, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. Charter said Jan. 15 that it was working with bondholders on “financial alternatives” after missing an interest payment to lenders. The company is vying with larger rivals for customers and has more than $20 billion in debt, prompting Moody’s Investors Service to say last month that bankruptcy is likely unless Charter restructures it. Major bondholders are also organizing for a possible bankruptcy filing, with senior noteholders hiring investment bank Houlihan Lokey, the people said. The Los Angeles-based firm has advised on some of the biggest debt restructurings of all time, including the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and WorldCom Inc. bankruptcies. Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft Corp., has held a controlling stake since 1998 in the company, which hasn’t turned a profit since going public a decade ago. Allen is represented by Nick Saggese of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in the talks and is being advised by Miller Buckfire & Co., the people said. Shares Unchanged Cieri represented Federated Department Stores Inc. in the 1990s, during its reorganization while with the Jones Day firm. After Federated came out of Chapter 11, he represented the department store chain when it bought Macy’s Inc. out of bankruptcy. He has since helped reorganize such companies as Calpine Corp., LTV Steel Co. and Trans World Airlines Inc. Charter shares were unchanged at 12 cents in Nasdaq Stock Market trading yesterday. The stock has dropped 89 percent in the past year. Charter’s 11 percent note maturing in 2015 rose 3.25 cents on the dollar to 16.75 cents on the dollar, according to Trace. The yield fell to 70.97 percent. The company had already lost almost $1 billion through the first three quarters of 2008 alone. Charter had about 5.5 million customers as of Sept. 30. Spokeswoman Anita Lamont declined to comment. Kate Kortenkamp, a spokeswoman at Kirkland & Ellis, also declined to comment. The company and its units had more than $900 million of cash on hand and cash equivalents as of Jan. 13 to pay for operating costs and expenses, according to a statement Jan. 15. Charter’s interest payments amounted to $478 million, more than half that, in its latest quarter. The cost to borrow surged last year as the subprime mortgage-bond collapse spread to the broader credit markets, shutting the door to new financing for the riskiest companies. Charter failed to pay about $73.7 million in interest fees due Jan. 15. The company has 30 days from that date to make good on the payments or risk a default. The company has sold about $16.4 billion of U.S. high-yield bonds since 1999, the most of any company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff St.Onge in London at jstonge@bloomberg.net Last Updated: January 17, 2009 00:01 EST