LyondellBasell, this one could hurt!!!

[Marilyn]

The news this afternoon was no better, in fact it could be even worse because the forecast now is that the fall of LyondellBasell is probably inevitable. We determined today how to continue to work with them and not expose us any more than necessary should they default. We just hope that their requirements in the next 30 days will not be too great. According to the news today, they have until Sunday to make their payments. If they default, I'm not sure what will happen next.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...3_FORTUNE5.htm

"In a regulatory filing Wednesday, LyondellBasell said lenders had agreed to postpone $160 million in fee payments to Jan. 4 from Dec. 29. The deadline for the payment had been extended previously from Dec. 19. It also postponed $120 million of interest due on some debt.
LyondellBasell's biggest lenders include Citigroup (C), Merrill Lynch & Co. ( MER) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS). Spokespeople for all three declined to comment."

These are things you don't want to read about one of your key customers. They are a very good company, very good people and the purchase that got them in trouble seemed to be a good thing at the time. They got caught just like some of us did with our 401K's. They needed a crystal ball even more than we did!!

[DianaB]

That's too bad. We should all be worried about what's going on.

[Janet]

I don't want it to hurt anyone, but I sure don't want my family and friends hurt by all this.

[Marilyn]

I spoke with one of the guys that I work with, Shane, this afternoon. He was out looking for a home to rent today. We were his landlords, until this past summer when we sold the home he is living in to a gentleman in the oil business. The new owner planned to continue to rent the home to Shane and his family. However, he notified Shane yesterday, that due to the price of oil dropping so suddenly, he is having financial troubles and must move out of his home in town and move into the rent house. When Shane paid his rent yesterday, he was given a 30 day eviction notice. I feel so bad. If we hadn't sold the property, this wouldn't be happening. Although, selling when we did was a really good thing for us.

It looks like none of us will be spared some hardship as a result of these times.

[Marilyn]

Well, it happened......
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090106/lyond...ankruptcy.html

I've been working feverishly trying to minimize our loss potential ever since first starting this thread. My e-mails and phones fell silent about 3 p.m. when the news hit.

I really do not know at this time what this means. It was like a crash had occurred, but there was no noise. Those of us in the frey of things were just stunned. We were racing against the clock and the time ran out.

[Tiramisu]

Three of my neighbors, two girlfriends, and a lady who bought one of my pups work at Lyondell. I hate that this is happening. Were they being too greedy?

[Marilyn]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

Three of my neighbors, two girlfriends, and a lady who bought one of my pups work at Lyondell. I hate that this is happening. Were they being too greedy?

Yes/No. They based their business decisions on how things were looking in 2007 and into the future. 2008 was a record breaking year until September. Basell went into heavy debt buying Lyondell in 2007. Their projections for being able to cover the debt were based on past and projected performance. The world changed in Sept. '08 and when consumers stopped buying things and cars, the demand for chemicals and plastics plummeted and so did the industries' profits. The bills came due and the income just wasn't there. The creditors needed to work with Lyondell in restructuring their loans or they had to file bankruptcy. The latter happened.

LyondellBasell is not the only company in this industry in trouble. Ineos is having trouble covering their debt. Dow lost the Kuwait deal and committed to buy Rohm & Hass this summer when stock was high. Now they are trying to renegotiate the purchase and may sue Kuwait to recover billions lost on that deal. Dow is the largest chemical company in the world. LyondellBasell was number 3. When giants like these have problems, there will be ripples into other industries as well.

Also, it seems to begin a domino effect once one falls, others follow.

The news is so fresh, we don't know what to expect, yet. There will be some reductions in force. We just have to wait and see how the restructuring works, and whether or not we get paid.

I don't know what tomorrow will hold, whether we will be shipping to them or not. I'm figuring, not, but will have to wait and see. I've been in this industry since 1979, and have never seen a time anything like this. I was hopeful until today. Now, I really don't know. I've never seen so many units just not running. The entire Invista, Lyondell, DuPont plant site in our area is down, no steam or anything. Most of the company employees/non-contract people are still there, but for how long?

Houston could be the next Detroit at this rate. Very, very sad!!