The FDIC said on Friday the agreement settles claims between the bankrupt bank's holding company and JPMorgan Chase, which acquired the failed bank.

The FDIC is involved because it was appointed receiver of Washington Mutual in September 2008, during the height of the financial crisis. The deal comes after the FDIC board had rejected a previous proposed settlement.

The bank holding company has been seeking a way out of 18 months of legal fights so it can begin repaying creditors.

The three parties have been fighting over deposits Washington Mutual had at its seized bank and over billions of dollars in tax refunds.

"This agreement will result in substantial recoveries to the receiver and resolve potential claims that could have taken years and millions of dollars to litigate," FDIC General Counsel Michael Bradfield said in a statement.

Washington Mutual said in a statement later on Friday that settlement was filed with the full support of the FDIC, JPMorgan, and the official committee of unsecured creditors.

Bank holding company Washington Mutual Inc. has filed an amended Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

The plan filed Sunday in Delaware bankruptcy court is based on a settlement involving WMI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and JPMorgan Chase Bank, which filed lawsuits against one another after the FDIC seized Washington Mutual's flagship bank in 2008 and sold its assets to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion.

The FDIC objected to the initial settlement plan, resulting in negotiations that led to the amended plan.

In addition distributing some $7 billion in funds among various parties as part of the settlement, the plan allows certain creditors to buy new shares in the reorganized company. Holders of existing shares would receive nothing.

It takes an average of about 100 days from the time a U.S. Supreme Court justice announces his or her retirement until the Senate confirms a replacement, according to Senate Judiciary Committee.

President Barack Obama on Monday nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan as successor to the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

While no nomination is guaranteed to be approved by the Senate, Kagan is seen as having a good chance for confirmation. Here is a look at what she faces in the drive to be sworn in.

* In coming days, Kagan will likely have courtesy visits with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. She will also visit with the 12 Democrats and seven Republicans on the Judiciary Committee who will hold the confirmation hearing.

* The 400,000-member American Bar Association, the world's largest voluntary professional association, will conduct its own review of the nominee. The ABA will deem Kagan "well qualified," "qualified" or "unqualified." While the rating will not ensure confirmation or rejection, it is certain to be a factor in Senate consideration.

* The Judiciary Committee will submit a questionnaire to Kagan. Questions will range from age, place of birth and education to net worth, copies of the nominee's public writings and speeches, potential conflicts of interest and if anyone at the White House asked how she might rule. In 2005, the panel complained that President George W. Bush's nominee Harriet Miers had inadequately filled out her questionnaire. She withdrew from consideration.

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld part of the U.S. bankruptcy law that bars attorneys from advising clients to take on more debt while considering a bankruptcy filing.

The opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor reverses a ruling by a U.S. appeals court that a provision of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was unconstitutionally broad and violated free-speech rights.

The provision prohibits bankruptcy professionals like attorneys from advising their clients to incur more debt, such as mortgages or student loans, before filing for creditor protection.

The ruling is a victory for the U.S. Justice Department, which defended the provision. It said Congress adopted the law fight abuse of the bankruptcy system encouraged by lawyers.

Department attorneys also argued that the law can be interpreted narrowly to prohibit only advice that a client take new debt with the intent of abusing the bankruptcy system. Sotomayor agreed with that interpretation.

The Minneapolis-based bankruptcy law firm Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz PA, two of its attorneys and two prospective clients sued in 2007, saying the law violated constitutional free-speech rights under the First Amendment.

A U.S. appeals court based in St. Louis agreed, ruling that the law prevented lawyers from fulfilling their duty to clients to give them appropriate financial advice.

A federal judge has approved Affiliated Media Inc's bankruptcy reorganization plan, clearing the way for the publisher of the Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News to emerge from Chapter 11 protection this month.

Judge Kevin Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, at a Thursday hearing approved the plan, which he called "fair, equitable and reasonable," and warranted by "exceptional and unique circumstances."

Affiliated Media is holding company for MediaNews Group, which it said is the second-largest U.S. newspaper publisher by circulation, owning 54 daily newspapers and more than 100 non-daily newspapers.

The company has said all but one of its newspapers were profitable, but a restructuring was needed because of the slump in advertising, which generates about 80 percent of its revenue. It has said the current environment could not sustain what it called "yesterday's balance sheet."

Penton Business Media Holdings Inc, a publisher of 113 trade magazines such as Ward's AutoWorld, Restaurant Hospitality and National Hog Farmer, won court approval of its reorganization plan, and expects to emerge from bankruptcy within a few days.

Judge Arthur Gonzalez confirmed the New York-based company's Chapter 11 plan on Friday in Manhattan bankruptcy court.

The plan will eliminate more than $270 million of debt, with second lien holders recovering 15 cents on the dollar. Penton will get as much as $51.2 million of new equity from its owners, court records show. Management and the board of directors will remain intact.

Penton filed for a "pre-packaged" reorganization with the support of its lenders on Feb. 10, after the privately held company struggled with falling advertising sales as many readers shifted to digital media from print.

Many publishing rivals have faced similar pressures. Penton has said revenue fell 7.5 percent in 2008 and an estimated 26.2 percent in 2009.

The company is owned by private equity firm MidOcean Partners and by an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co, the buyout firm once controlled by the late Wall Street dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Thursday approved the reorganization plan of the holding company of Denver’s MediaNews Group Inc., publisher of The Denver Post, the company said.

Confirmation of the “pre-packaged” plan by Judge Kevin Carey of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will allow Affiliated Media Inc., parent of MediaNews, to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

“We knew we had a good plan going in, and it had been approved by the lenders before it was filed,” William Dean Singleton, chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group, said in a statement. “We are pleased that it won confirmation, and that our company is now well-positioned for the changing days ahead.”

Affiliated filed under Chapter 11 on Jan. 22 and submitted a plan already approved by major creditors, allowing it to greatly reduce its debt from $930 million to $165 million in debt in exchange for equity in the company, while leaving Singleton and President Joseph “Jody” Lodovic in control of the Affiliated/MediaNews management.