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WSJ Pro Bankruptcy: Direct Lenders Face Rising Default Risks, Analysis Firm KBRA Says

Direct lenders face rising default risks in 2025, with 5% of middle-market borrowers struggling under heavy debt and worsening business performance, according to a quarterly report by credit rating analysis firm KBRA, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The prolonged high-interest-rate environment has put pressure on certain sectors, based on KBRA’s analysis of 1,903 private-equity-owned middle-market companies in the U.S. and Europe that hold a collective $922 billion in debt. Housing, construction, discretionary retail and physician practices are among the industries most susceptible to inflation and elevated borrowing costs, said John Sage, one of the lead authors of the report. READ MORE
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Alamo Beer Co. Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Amid Struggles for Craft Brewers

Alamo Beer Co. LLC, a ubiquitous name in San Antonio’s craft brewery scene, has filed for bankruptcy reorganization amid the industry’s ongoing struggles, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The company filed a skeleton chapter 11 petition listing estimated assets and liabilities each in the range of $1 million to $10 million. The 19-page petition offered no details on the events that led Alamo Beer to seek refuge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Antonio. But the bankruptcy comes as Alamo Beer majority owner Eugene Simor has been exploring options for the brewery, including selling part of it, its brands or its property on the near East Side where he opened a facility in 2014. READ MORE
S.E.C. Moves to Scale Back Its Crypto Enforcement Efforts

The Securities and Exchange Commission is moving to scale back a special unit of more than 50 lawyers and staff members that had been dedicated to bringing crypto enforcement actions, the New York Times reported. The move is one of the first concrete steps by President Trump and his administration to pull back on the regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. One of Mr. Trump’s first executive orders was aimed at promoting the growth of crypto and “eliminating regulatory overreach” on digital assets. READ MORE
South Florida Coffee Company Files for Bankruptcy

Barista Joe's filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy with over $528,000 in debts, the South Florida Business Journal reported. DCAM Group LLC, which does business as Barista Joe's, petitioned for chapter 7 liquidation on Jan. 14, listing over $528,000 in debts and more than $246,000 in assets. The company's president and co-founder, Christopher Milano, filed the petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Lauderdale. READ MORE

 
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U.S. Job Openings Post Biggest Drop in 14 Months

U.S. job openings dropped by the most in 14 months in December, but steady hiring and low layoffs suggested that the labor market was not abruptly slowing down and probably keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines at least until June, Reuters reported. The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday showed there were 1.1 job openings for every unemployed person, down from 1.15 in November. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters last week, "We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance." READ MORE
U.S. Factory Orders Decline Again in December

New orders for U.S.-manufactured goods dropped in December, pulled down by a decline in bookings for civilian aircraft, but demand elsewhere was marginally firm, Reuters reported. Factory orders tumbled 0.9% after a revised 0.8% decline in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders would fall 0.7% after a previously reported 0.4% drop in November. Factory orders were unchanged on a year-on-year basis in December. READ MORE
Fed Terminates Two 2011 Enforcement Actions Against Wells Fargo

The Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday it had terminated a pair of enforcement actions imposed on Wells Fargo in 2011, but said the bank's asset cap remained in place, Reuters reported. The enforcement actions were related to deficient practices in mortgage servicing and foreclosures by the bank, and mortgage lending at a former subsidiary. The Fed said the asset cap it imposed is not affected by the move. READ MORE
Coinbase Urges U.S. Regulators to Clear Path for Banks to Offer Crypto Services

Coinbase Global on Tuesday renewed its call for U.S. banking regulators to clarify or revise their position on banks offering cryptocurrency services as well as potentially doing tie-ups with companies in the digital assets sector, Reuters reported. The crypto exchange's move comes amid a broader industry push to lobby lawmakers for a regulatory framework to support the sector's growth. Most traditional U.S. banks have steered clear of digital asset firms, citing lack of regulatory clarity. READ MORE
Acting CFTC Chair Restructures Agency's Enforcement Division

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will reorganize its Division of Enforcement's task forces to end "regulation by enforcement" and instead focus on combating fraud and helping victims, CFTC's acting chairman said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The agency, which polices commodities and swaps markets, will be folding previous task forces into two new units targeting complex fraud and targeting retail fraud and general enforcement, the CFTC said in a statement. CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham said in the statement the new structure will "stop regulation by enforcement" and maximize the agency's resources to target fraudsters and other bad actors. READ MORE
Congress to Form Cryptocurrency Working Group

U.S. Representative French Hill (R-Ark.), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said yesterday that lawmakers from both chambers of Congress would form a working group to develop policy favoring development of digital assets, Reuters reported. New legislation will deliver "clarity for a regulatory framework," Hill said at a Capitol Hill news conference, joined by White House crypto and artificial intelligence czar David Sacks as well as other lawmakers. President Donald Trump in January ordered formation of a cryptocurrency working group comprised of agency heads tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile. READ MORE
Preliminary-Round Judges Needed for the Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition!

The Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, now in its 33rd year and widely recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent moot court competitions, will be held in New York March 1-3, 2025. Fifty-three teams from law schools across the country will compete through written briefings and oral argument. Please find the fact pattern by clicking here. Volunteers are needed to judge the preliminary rounds (sign up here) of the competition. Click here for more information and to volunteer.
 
 
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