James S. Wood

Other articles by Alan Zibel:

U.S. home sales edge up but recovery still fragileMortgage aid program is expandedSuicide suspected in death of Freddie Mac acting CFO KellermannForeclosure threat up 24%; Arizona rate among largestFebruary new home sales rise unexpectedlyFebruary existing home sales rise by 5.1 percentObama administration launches housing planDo you qualify? What can you get? Q&A addresses some of the key questionsObama outlines $75 billion mortgage relief planObama unveils $75 billion mortgage relief plan

Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Construction
West-Press
Printing Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President

The national company that owns the Tucson Mall and Park Place mall has got a reprieve in its effort to stave off bankruptcy.

General Growth Properties Inc. is getting a two-week extension on $900 million in debt that had been scheduled to come due last week.

The mortgages cover two malls, Fashion Show and Palazzo, located in Las Vegas, the company said late Sunday. Shares fell 12 cents, or 8.7 percent, to $1.26 in morning trading.

Chicago-based General Growth Properties, the nation's second-largest shopping mall owner, has been hit hard by the deteriorating U.S. economy and problems at struggling U.S. retailers. Analysts are unsure whether new managers, installed in late October, will be able to solve the company's problems.

The company last month hired law firm Sidley Austin as an adviser as it struggles to refinance its staggering debt. The company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month that it faces nearly $3.1 billion in maturing debt next year, and warned that inability to refinance that debt "raises substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern."

Deutsche Bank analysts Lou Taylor and Vin Chao predicted Monday that the company will likely receive a longer-term loan extension, rather than default, allowing General Growth to sell off assets or obtain new corporate-level financing.

"Given the financial markets, it's impossible to determine when this will occur and at what price," they wrote.

General Growth has a stake in more than 200 shopping malls in 44 states. It is trying to sell its Las Vegas locations.

Shares of General Growth have lost 91 percent of their value since the end of September, amid concerns about the real estate investment trust's ability to sell debt, and turmoil in General Growth's executive ranks.

Last month, the company reported disappointing third-quarter results and cut its year-end forecast, weeks after the mall owner's board removed its chief executive, president and chief financial officer. Their ouster came after the company disclosed that former CEO John Bucksbaum's family trust provided $90 million in personal loans to cover margin debt for the former chief financial officer and president.