Financial headlines

The official committee of creditors in the bankruptcy case of Dura Automotive Inc. says material, nonpublic information about its business plan "may have been leaked into the hands of a few traders" in the parts maker's debt.

In papers filed last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., the creditors committee objected to Dura's request to file its business plan under seal.
The Rochester Hills parts maker filed for Chapter 11 protection in October. The business plan that appears to have been leaked contains the revamped company's earnings projections.

A jolt upward in debt trading prices indicates confidential information about the plan was leaked, leaving some of the market at a disadvantage, the official creditors committee said.

Hours after a key May 23 session at which Dura's financial adviser disclosed information to representatives of an ad hoc panel of holders of second-lien debt, prices for that debt began to climb, court documents note.

As a result, the committee says Dura should be required to unveil its entire business plan now, to prevent creditors who played by the rules from being preyed upon by those who received allegedly leaked information.

HEALTH: Wellness plan attracts 46,000

Healthy Blue Living, a new insurance plan that rewards employers and employees for healthy behaviors, reached 46,000 members in 200 Michigan businesses enrolled in the program's first nine months.

The plan is offered by Blue Care Network, which is owned by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan.

The plan rewards employees for healthy lifestyles with lower co-payments and deductibles. Their employers save an average of 10% in exchange for offering workplace programs in smoking cessation, weight loss, diabetes control and other good-health practices. Companies also must agree to ban smoking from their premises.

The plan works this way: All employees and their spouses begin with the enhanced benefits, but pay more after three months if the member or couple don't agree to undergo a health appraisal or modify behaviors such as smoking that increase their risk of a disease.

Genesys names new president

Genesys Regional Medical Center has named Elizabeth Aderholdt as its new president. She will join the health system headquartered in Grand Blanc on July 30.

The last five years, Aderholdt served as president of St. Mary's Health Center in Missouri.

MANUFACTURING: Weyerhaeuser sues Dow over patent

Weyerhaeuser Co., the world's biggest lumber producer, sued Midland-based Dow Chemical Co., claiming it is the true owner of a patent for making composites of wood and plastic that it plans to use in siding and other materials.

Weyerhaeuser, based in Federal Way, Wash., said Dow is contesting ownership of the 2005 patent that the lumber company bought last year from two Canadian inventors, according to a complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del.

NEWSPAPERS: Union members ratify 3-year contract

Members of the unions representing the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News and the janitorial staff passed a 3-year contract, ending six months of negotiations with the Detroit Media Partnership.

Unions representing pressmen, mailers and the Teamsters also passed their contracts.

The negotiations were the most difficult in 30 years, Newspaper Guild President Lou Mleczko said.

The contract retains daily overtime, which the company proposed ending.

However, health-care costs will increase, and employees won't get a company match for 401(k) retirement investments.
source:www.freep.com