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The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has approved Syntax-Brillian Corp.’s motions to continue wage and salary payments and obtain working capital while it tries to sell its assets through the Chapter 11 process.

The Tempe-based television maker filed to reorganize its debts Tuesday, faced with surmounting debt and numerous shareholder lawsuits accusing the company’s former officers and directors of failing to give investors accurate information about the company’s financial situation.

Under the motions that have been approved, Syntax-Brillian is authorized to honor existing employee benefits and continue customer programs it operates. According to court filings, the company has only eight employees working at its office in Tempe and close to 100 working out of its offices in City of Industry, Calif. It's subsidiary, UK-based digital camera maker Vivitar Corp., also 65 employees. 

The company is also able to enter an agreement to obtain “debtor-in-possession” financing from Silver Point Finance on an interim basis. The financing, standard in Chapter 11 cases, lets a debtor borrow money to help it continue paying for operational expenses during the bankruptcy process.

The court also approved a motion giving Syntax-Brillian authority to continue filling orders placed by Target Corp., one of the TV maker’s retail partners, both before the bankruptcy filing and after.

If you recognize that credit scores can't be obtained for free once a year, consider yourself in the knowledgeable minority.

A new survey by the Consumer Federation of America and Washington Mutual Bank rates Americans as having a "poor" grasp about credit scores, which summarize information contained in credit reports and reflect a person's ability and willingness to pay back debts.

Among indicators of knowledge deficiency:

' 79 percent of respondents in the survey thought credit scores could be obtained for free, apparently confusing them with credit reports, which are available at no cost.

' Only 31 percent correctly linked scores with a person's ability and willingness to repay a debt.

' 74 percent mistakenly assumed scores are influenced by income, and 40 percent incorrectly thought age was a factor.

On the other hand, more consumers seem to recognize that scores can be used by landlords, insurers and other parties - not just lenders or creditors.

Among tips for raising scores, the CFA and Washington Mutual cited such suggestions as:

' Consistently paying bills on time

' Not maxing out on credit cards or coming close to using all available funds

' Paying off debts rather than moving them among accounts

' Checking credit reports regularly (through www.annualcreditreport.com) for errors, omissions and other problems.

PMI Mortgage's latest report shows metro Phoenix is one of 16 U.S. cities that have at least a 40 percent chance of home prices continuing to fall.

But at least the Valley was only no. 11 on the list. Riverside, Calif. topped the list with the highest chance for home prices falling. Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Palm Beach and Sacramento all ranked higher than metro Phoenix.

Phoenix has been on this list for the last year.

No one knows how much more home prices will drop.  PMI's U.S. Market Risk Index is based on home-price data, labor market statistics, housing affordability, household income, past trends in price appreciation, and mortgage rates. The index generates a score estimating the chance that home prices will be lower in two years.

The firm expects national home price drops until at least 2009.