Corporate Bankruptcy

Ebbers, Icon of Dotcom Greed, Jailed for 25 Years
Bernard Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom, was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison for his role in the $11bn (£6bn) fraud that drove the once high-flying American company into the largest bankruptcy in corporate history.

Grundig Collapses Into Bankruptcy
Grundig, the consumer electronics group that helped drive Germany's post-war economic miracle, yesterday collapsed into bankruptcy. A potential Turkish saviour abandoned takeover talks last week. The latest in a growing line of German corporate failures, Grundig vowed to stay in business...

Conseco takes Chapter 11 route
Conseco, the insurance and lending firm, yesterday became the third-largest bankruptcy in US corporate history, capping a miserable year which has seen some of the biggest names in American business go under.

United Airlines Running on Empty
Shares in United Airlines' parent UAL Corporation were suspended yesterday as the threat of bankruptcy loomed over the world's second largest carrier. Trading on Wall Street halted after shares fell 59% to $1.28 after the session opened. Hopes of avoiding bankruptcy appeared to...

FBI puts cuffs on former WorldCom chiefs
US officials continued their crackdown on corporate scandals yesterday with the arrest of two former WorldCom executives for their alleged part in the $3.85bn accounting fraud that tipped the company into bankruptcy.

Threat to Bush in Enron inquiry
President Bush moved rapidly yesterday to distance himself from the collapsed Enron Corporation as speculation grew that the bankruptcy of the giant energy trading company could turn into his administration's most dangerous scandal. Hours after the justice department announced it was...