Filing

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Orange County became the largest government unit in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy protection yesterday, as its top elected leaders declared that the county had run out of cash after several big investment houses demanded repayment of $1.2 billion in loans they extended to the county's loss-stricken investment pool.The news that one of the nation's largest and wealthiest counties was seeking protection from its creditors capped a day of political and financial turmoil that shook not just Orange County and its residents but also the nation's financial markets.

People interested in running for state and county offices had until 9 o'clock last night to file for candidacy. The deadline appeared to bring few additional office seekers for county positions, with no new candidates for Anne Arundel County executive by 6 p.m.A handful of Republicans decided to run for state office, with two filing for House of Delegates in District 30, one for House of Delegates in District 31 and another Republican filing for Senate in...

NEW YORK -- TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc., the nation's largest black-owned business and a recent contender to buy the Baltimore Orioles, has filed to sell $150 million in bonds to help shore up its weak financial position.The New York-based company, which is run by former Baltimore lawyer and football star Jean S. Fugett Jr., filed the bond offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday.The bonds, which are underwritten by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co., are due in 2003.

WASHINGTON -- Organizers of a Draft Powell committee that seeks to win the Republican presidential nomination for Gen. Colin Powell said yesterday that they had formally filed with the ,, Federal Election Commission.The committee, Citizens for Colin Powell, has not been authorized by General Powell, but its filing with the election commission would let it be converted into an official campaign committee should the general announce his candidacy."The extent of the outpouring of support for Colin Powell for president . . . prompts our filing at this time," said Charles J. Kelly Jr., a retired investment banker who heads the group.

NEW YORK -- R. H. Macy & Co.'s retinue of lawyers and investment bankers worked yesterday to assemble a financing package that the retailer will need if it files for bankruptcy protection, as is expected.Although the financing arrangements are incomplete, several participants in the negotiations said they expected them to be finished by today. They reiterated that a bankruptcy filing is imminent.Macy's board is expected to meet today to decide whether to proceed with the bankruptcy filing.

A Towson insurance agency has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and charged its former chief executive, who disappeared mysteriously last month, with owing the company nearly $1 million.The bankruptcy protection filing by Charter Group Inc. and three subsidiaries comes five weeks after the then-CEO, Hamilton Schmidt, 38, was reported missing amid allegations that $1.1 million was missing from the company.In its filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, Charter Group and the subsidiaries list total liabilities of $4.6 million.

Erickson Retirement Communities, a pioneering senior-living developer founded 26 years ago with the opening of Charlestown in Catonsville, filed for federal bankruptcy-law protection Monday with a plan to restructure more than $1 billion in debt and sell the struggling company to a local investment firm. Erickson said the Chapter 11 filing was necessary to restructure debt, split the core management and real estate businesses into separate entities, and pave the way for a sale. Erickson, which has 23,000 residents in communities around the U.S., said it was being purchased for an undisclosed amount by Redwood Capital Investments LLC. That company is controlled by Jim Davis, who is the majority owner of the $5 billion, Hanover-based staffing firm Allegis Group; he could not be reached for comment Monday.

Constellation Energy Group Inc. filed with regulators yesterday to sell $2.3 billion in debt securities over the next two years. According to its shelf registration filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Constellation - the parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. - can sell the securities from time to time in one or more offerings up to a total of $2.5 billion. Constellation is also carrying forward $200 million in previously registered notes, according to the filing.

The court battles swirling around the owner of the Baltimore Orioles intensified late yesterday when seven banks filed in New York to place Eli S. Jacobs into involuntary bankruptcy.The action is not expected to derail negotiations surrounding the sale of the team.Mr. Jacobs has 20 days to respond to the filing, at which time he could contest the action by demonstrating he is paying his debts. But that is regarded as unlikely because creditors have filed numerous lawsuits seeking repayment of overdue loans and personal guarantees.