Bankruptcy

  When Hostess Brands Inc. closed its bakeries in November, Campbell Soup Co.'s Pepperidge Farm subsidiary stepped in. "Due to the Hostess bankruptcy, we were able to get extra shelf space," Campbell's chief executive, Denise M. Morrison, said Friday during a conference call on the Camden company's earnings for the quarter that ended Jan. 27. Campbell did not provide specifics on sales gains that could be attributed to that extra shelf...

Adroit HIVAC L.L.C. , 2596 Winchester Ave., Philadelphia; Chapter 7; no schedules available. Richard A. Eberz , also known as Andy Eberz , formerly doing business as EBZ Moving & Storage L.L.C. , 224 Hendricks St., Ambler; Chapter 7; no schedules available. Charles Patterson , doing business as Benchmark Landscape Service , and Elizabeth Patterson , 1522 Temple Rd., Pottstown; Chapter 7; no schedules available. Robert Coll and Cherrie Coll , doing business as COLL L.L.C. , 2318 Rhawn St., Philadelphia; Chapter 13; no schedules available.

In the Region     Mine drainage proposed for fracking   The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has finalized a process to encourage the use of acid mine drainage for hydraulic fracturing, part of an effort to reduce the use of freshwater in extracting oil and gas from shale. The DEP's white paper says that proposals to use "mine-influenced" water must include sampling and characterization of the water, as well as details about how the water will be transported, stored and used.

Barry Kratchman's experience more than 40 years ago - as a teenager, he watched in "horror" as an eel's head and body each continued to wriggle well after being separated - might seem gross. It was gross. But it also proved something important, he insists now: that his friend - the one behind the beheading, the one who wanted to experience what eel tasted like when filleted, breaded, and baked - would make a tremendous business partner because he wasn't afraid to try new things.

NEW YORK - The makers of Thomas' English muffins and Tastykake snacks are emerging as bidders for Wonder Bread and other Hostess bread brands as the company tries to sell off its assets under bankruptcy court oversight, a newspaper reported Saturday. The Wall Street Journal said Hostess Brands Inc. could announce as early as this week that Flowers Foods Inc. and Grupo Bimbo SAB are in discussions to acquire the bread brands, which include Nature's Pride. The report said the brands could command $350 million.

Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, and the Allentown Morning Call, as well as local TV stations including Channel 17 in Philadelphia and numerous cable and Internet properties, emerged from bankruptcy Monday. The move came four years after a doomed leveraged buyout by billionaire Sam Zell led to Chapter 11 proceedings. As part of its exit from bankruptcy, the Chicago-based company closed on a new $1.1 billion term loan and a $300 million revolving credit line.

D EAR HARRY: About a year ago, I followed your advice to another reader and went to a nonprofit credit- counseling agency. They did me a lot of good. Some of my debts got reduced and I started to make one payment to the agency for all my accumulated credit-card debts (about $40,000). Then things started to get tight again, and I skipped a mortgage payment. Bad mistake. They just about killed my credit report. I'm having a lot of trouble keeping up both the payments to the agency and to the mortgage bank.