 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | WSJ Pro Bankruptcy: COVID Test Lab Weighs Unusual Debt-Collection Plan: Bankruptcy
Few companies are eager for a bankruptcy filing, but ProPhase Labs might be an exception, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. To collect accounts receivables from its days processing COVID-19 tests done inside pop-up tents in New York City years ago, the publicly traded company has said that it plans to put a basically dormant testing subsidiary into bankruptcy, where a collections firm can then sue insurers “incredibly efficiently, all through one court with one judge.” READ MORE | | | | | SPONSORED CONTENTPrivate Credit and BSLs: Friends or Foes? With private credit and broadly syndicated loans (BSLs) competing for dominance, the lending landscape is in flux. But can these markets ultimately work hand in hand? SRS Acquiom, in partnership with Debtwire, surveyed 200 senior executives from alternative asset management firms across Europe and the U.S. to uncover the true dynamics of these two critical markets. Download the Report | | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | Saks Hires Kirkland & Ellis, PJT to Explore Financing Options
Saks Global Enterprises tapped PJT Partners, Kirkland & Ellis and Bank of America Corp. to help it explore ways to raise new financing alongside the asset-based loan it is pursuing, Bloomberg Law reported. The advisers will serve to help Saks assess its options for boosting liquidity as economic pressures, including President Donald Trump’s trade policies, weigh on the U.S. retail sector. Saks told investors on a call last month it was considering raising a so-called first-in, last-out loan under the $1.8 billion borrowing capacity of its existing revolving credit facility, and that it was mulling a sale of some of its real estate assets to shore up its finances. READ MORE | | Wellpath Emerges from Chapter 11 Protection
Wellpath, a provider of healthcare to patients in correctional facilities, announced yesterday that it successfully emerged from chapter 11 and completed its financial restructuring process, according to a company press release. As part of this emergence, Wellpath transitioned ownership to a group of its current and former lenders to help ensure continued delivery of health care services to patients. READ MORE | | U.S. to Slash Tariff on Small China Parcels from 120% to 54%
The United States will cut the "de minimis" tariff for low-value items imported from China, a White House executive order said on Monday, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies, Reuters reported. The tariff relief, which affects big Chinese e-commerce players including Shein and Temu, follows a deal between Beijing and Washington to unwind most of the duties imposed on each other's goods since early April, after weekend talks in Geneva. READ MORE
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June 11-13 | Park City, Utah | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Georgia Become Second U.S. State to Shield Maker of Roundup Weed Killer from Some Cancer Claims
In a victory for global agrochemical maker Bayer, Georgia has become the second state to shield pesticide manufacturers from some lawsuits claiming that they failed to warn customers of potential dangers, the Associated Press reported. The legislation signed Friday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is designed to protect Bayer from lawsuits claiming that it failed to tell customers that its popular weed killer Roundup could cause cancer. It’s written broadly enough to provide legal protection in Georgia to any pesticide manufacturer that follows federal labeling requirements. READ MORE | | Monthly Inflation Picked Up in April in Midst of Tariff Swings
Annual inflation cooled in April, a month when businesses were yanked back and forth as they tried to adjust to President Trump’s unpredictable trade policies, the Wall Street Journal reported. However, prices rose 0.2% from the previous month. In March, month-over-month prices had fallen 0.1%. The consumer-price index was up 2.3% in April from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported today. (Subscription required.) READ MORE | | Chegg to Lay Off 22% of Workforce as AI Tools Shake Up EdTech Industry
Chegg said yesterday that it would lay off about 22% of its workforce, or 248 employees, to cut costs and streamline its operations as students increasingly turn to AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT over traditional edtech platforms, Reuters reported. The company, an online education firm that offers textbook rentals, homework help and tutoring, has been grappling with a decline in web traffic for months and warned that the trend would likely worsen before improving. READ MORE | | Banking Sector Says Easing of U.S. Leverage Rules Could Support Treasury Market
The banking industry is optimistic that U.S. regulators will soon move to change how much capital they set aside against typically safe investments, particularly after the turmoil in Treasury markets last month, Reuters reported. Such a move to revamp the "supplementary leverage ratio" could reduce the amount of cash banks must reserve, freeing them up for more lending or other activities, and could incentivize banks to play a larger role in intermediating Treasury markets. READ MORE | | Trump Signs Rollbacks of Biden-Era Overdraft, Digital Wallet Rules
President Trump signed two congressional rollbacks of Biden-era rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that sought to cap overdraft fees and ramp up oversight of digital wallets, The Hill reported. The two rules were finalized in the last few months of the Biden administration, leaving them vulnerable to the lookback provision of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA allows Congress to overturn regulations put forward by federal agencies, including those finalized near the end of the previous session during the so-called lookback period. READ MORE | | | | |
