 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | WSJ Pro Bankruptcy: WeightWatchers Lender Advisers Sign Confidentiality Agreement For Restructuring Talks
Advisers representing lenders to WW International, the health and wellness company known as WeightWatchers, have signed a confidentiality agreement as they begin restructuring discussions with the company, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The discussions are at an early stage and are focused on helping the lender advisers better understand WeightWatchers’ business plan and financial forecasts to determine options lenders might have in negotiations. WeightWatchers has faced financial pressure and disruption from the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. The company’s revenue has declined in recent quarters. READ MORE | | | | | SPONSORED CONTENTDefault Rate May Not Tell the Whole Story The expected increase in loan defaults in 2024 never materialized. But while corporate credit health appears strong on the surface, there are signs of potential weakness underneath. This article examines current trends to help you stay informed about silent loan defaults, private credit default trends, impacts on maturities, and more. READ MORE | | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | Analysis: Bankrupt Car Wash Exposes Flaws in Private Credit Valuations
One fund marked it at 93 cents on the dollar. Another had it at 94 cents. A couple more kept it as high as 95 cents. On paper, private credit firms appeared optimistic about a $654 million loan they had provided to Zips Car Wash, Bloomberg News reported. Those valuations, at the end of September, implied a strong chance the debt would be repaid in full. As it turns out, the auto wash operator was in deep trouble. READ MORE | | SEC Case Against Crypto Exchange Binance Put on Hold
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday put the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil lawsuit against Binance on hold for 60 days, granting a joint request by the regulator and the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued her order after both parties on Monday said a new SEC task force to review cryptocurrency regulation may "impact and facilitate the potential resolution of this case." READ MORE | | Hertz Tumbles With Worse-Than-Expected Loss on EV Sale Plan
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said it finished selling off 30,000 electric vehicles, many of which were Tesla Inc. models, as the rental giant moves on from an ill-advised bet on plug-in cars that customers didn’t want and were expensive to maintain, Bloomberg News reported. The headlong push into EVs contributed to a loss of $2.9 billion in 2024, Hertz said Thursday in a statement that detailed fourth-quarter earnings. The company lost $1.18 a share on an adjusted basis in the quarter, worse than the 73-cent deficit expected by analysts, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. READ MORE
MORE NEWS BELOW | | |  | | Upcoming Events | | | | | 33rd Annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Awards Gala New York Marriott Downtown
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April 24-26 | Washington, D.C. | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Joann Is More Than a Chain Store to ‘Heartbroken’ Regulars
Crafters, quilters, knitters and makers across the country received bleak news on Wednesday when they learned that Joann, the arts-and-crafts retail giant, was preparing to close more than half of its stores in the wake of its latest bankruptcy filing — its second in less than a year, the New York Times reported. Possibly as early as this weekend, pending court approval, the company will begin closing 500 of its roughly 800 stores nationwide. To its loyal customer base, the news represented more than just the decline of a chain that sells yarn, art supplies, sewing machines and fabrics. It also symbolized the demise of a sanctuary for those who find joy in the therapeutic hobby of creation. READ MORE | | Proposed Congressional Resolutions Aim to Overturn CFPB’s Overdraft Rule
Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions introduced yesterday in the U.S. House and Senate aim to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) final rule capping overdraft fees, PYMNTS.com reported. The resolutions were introduced by House Financial Service Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.). READ MORE | | Thousands Fired as Trump, Musk Take Ax to U.S. Government Offices
Anxious U.S. federal workers are expected to see another round of pink slips on Friday as President Donald Trump and top adviser Elon Musk pursue a wholesale downsizing of the government, Reuters reported. Thousands of workers at multiple government agencies have been fired so far this week, most of them recently hired employees still on probation at departments including Veterans Affairs, Education and the Small Business Administration. READ MORE | | Trump Outlines Reciprocal Tariff Plan in Latest Bid to Reshape Trade on His Terms
U.S. President Donald Trump tasked his economics team on Thursday with devising a plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on every country that imposes duties on U.S. imports in a fresh salvo at American friends and foes ramping up prospects for a global trade war, Reuters reported. "On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while discussing measures the White House says will strengthen economic and national security. READ MORE | | Trump’s Funding Freezes Bruise a Core Constituency: Farmers
Even as courts have halted many of the orders of the Trump administration that paused federal funding on a range of programs and grants, rural communities are reeling from the effects, setting off confusion and panic among one of President Trump’s core constituencies, the New York Times reported. Billions of dollars in funding are at stake. One executive order targets the Inflation Reduction Act, including money for farmers to conserve soil and water and to complete energy projects. Other directives touch on grants to states and producers. Another, which froze U.S. foreign aid spending, temporarily left hundreds of millions of dollars worth of food and supplies sitting in ports and has stopped future purchases of grains and goods. READ MORE | | Commentary: We’re Headed Toward a Landlord-Friendly Era. Expect Higher Rent Prices.
The era of falling apartment rents looks to be nearly over, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary. A spike in rents during the early years of the pandemic sparked a historic apartment construction boom in 2023 and 2024. That crush of new inventory, especially in hot Sunbelt markets like Austin and Phoenix, led to oversupply and caused rents to fall in much of the country. But more people now are renting longer, as mortgage rates stay high and the costs of homeownership remain unaffordable for many Americans. Landlords say that the new construction pipeline should be mostly drained by year-end, setting the stage for rents to rise nationwide later this year. READ MORE | | Applications Due on Feb. 24 for ABI’s Diversity Mentoring Program
Applications are now being accepted for ABI’s Diversity Mentoring Program, hosted by our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to connect active or recently graduated business and law students with experienced insolvency professionals and ABI members who are offering professional development guidance. Throughout the program, mentors and mentees will meet bi-monthly to discuss a variety of topics with resources from ABI and members of the reorganization community, including judges, trustees, attorneys and accountants. For more information about the Diversity Mentorship Program and to apply to be a mentee for 2025-26, please visit ABI’s Diversity and Inclusion website at diversity.abi.org; applications are due February 24. | | | | |
