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Debtwire: HY Bond Issuance Leads Post-Liberation Day Recovery as LevLoans Markets Regain Momentum: 1H25 LevFin Highlights
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Leveraged finance (LevFin) issuance across the U.S. and European institutional loan and high-yield (HY) bond markets fell 22% year-on-year (YoY) to USD 814bn-equivalent in the first half of 2025, as tariff-induced volatility dampened primary activity at the start of the second quarter, Debtwire reported. However, LevFin markets subsequently recovered from the turmoil that followed the U.S. President’s April 2 Liberation Day announcement, finishing the quarter with a proliferation of issuance. Primary loan and bond issuance came to a virtual standstill in the immediate aftermath of the reciprocal tariff announcement. READ MORE
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 | | Editor's Picks |
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Who Will — and Won’t — Benefit from the Bigger SALT Deduction
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For the next five years, there will be a much more generous state and local tax deduction available to federal income tax filers, thanks to the recently enacted mega tax-and-spending-cuts law, CNN reported. The new law lifts what had been a $10,000 cap to $40,000 for tax year 2025 and then adjusts it upward by 1% a year for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029. The SALT deduction, as it is known, enables federal income tax filers to deduct either their state and local income taxes or their state and local general sales taxes. On top of that, they are also allowed to deduct their property taxes, assuming their income or sales taxes don’t put them over the cap, but the increased cap may only help a minority of federal income filers. READ MORE
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U.S. Corporate Bankruptcy Filings Lean Toward Reorganization over Liquidation
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Corporate bankruptcy filings have leaned toward reorganization over liquidation so far in 2025, while a greater share of 2024 filings also had sought to restructure, S&P Global reported. Of the 371 filings in the first six months of 2025, 227 have sought to restructure businesses, or about 61.2%, according to the latest S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Additionally, 2024 bankruptcies continued to favor reorganization, though revised data collected by Market Intelligence showed a decrease in the share to 56.3% of 688 total filings, compared with the initially reported share of 62.7% of 695 filings. READ MORE
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Average Long-Term U.S. Mortgage Rate Rises to 6.72%, Ending a Five-Week Slide
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The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged up this week, ending a five-week decline in borrowing costs for homebuyers, ABC News reported. The long-term rate ticked up to 6.72% from 6.67% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.89%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose. The average rate increased to 5.86% from 5.80% last week. A year ago, it was 6.17%. High mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers and reduce their purchasing power. READ MORE
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 | | Upcoming Events |
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2025 Northeast Bankruptcy Conference and Consumer Forum
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Mount Washington Resort & Spa
July 14-16 | Bretton Woods, N.H.
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2025 Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop
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The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
July 24-27 | Amelia Island, Fla.
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 | | Daily Roundup |
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Bankrupt Dolphin Park’s Ex-CEO Defying Court Orders, Firm Says
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Bankrupt marine animal parks operator Dolphin Co. said that the company’s former top executives in Mexico should be held accountable for defying court orders to turn over business records, Bloomberg Law reported. Ex-CEO Eduardo Albor and the company’s former chief legal officer, Concepcion Esteban Manchado, are flouting orders issued in recent weeks by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and should be sanctioned, company bankruptcy attorneys said in a filing. READ MORE
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Nursing Home Chain Genesis HealthCare Files for Bankruptcy
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Genesis Healthcare, which operates approximately 175 nursing facilities throughout the U.S., filed for bankruptcy after struggling to overcome financial burdens including legal costs from personal-injury and wrongful-death claims, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The company operated more than 500 facilities at its peak in 2016, but began divesting facilities after finding it unprofitable to operate at that scale. Genesis has secured a $30 million commitment from its existing lenders for a loan to fund the bankruptcy proceedings, and intends to ensure that staff retain their positions and compensation, while residents will continue to be served and vendor agreements will remain in place. READ MORE
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Clock Ticks for Jackson Walker, U.S. Trustee in Ethics Case Involving Ex-Judge
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An ethics scandal that rocked the corporate bankruptcy world nearly two years ago is ratcheting up again, with pressure mounting for Jackson Walker and the U.S. Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog to reach a deal or go to trial over efforts to claw back millions of dollars in legal fees from the firm, Reuters reported. The U.S. Trustee has demanded that Jackson Walker disgorge $11 million or more in fees that the firm was awarded by former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones. Jackson Walker and Kevin Epstein, the U.S. Trustee for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas, have until July 15 to reach a settlement after weeks of mediation in the trustee's case against the firm. READ MORE
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23andMe DNA Asset Sale to Proceed as California Continues Appeal
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A federal district judge allowed 23andMe Holding Co.'s genetic material asset sale to proceed in the coming days, despite the state of California’s objections, Bloomberg Law reported. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri allowed a brief administrative pause of the sale on July 7, shortly after a bankruptcy judge rejected California’s requested stay, but U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp held during a Thursday hearing that the state didn’t provide evidence that the bankruptcy judge abused his discretion by allowing the transaction. Schelp extended the administrative pause on the sale until 11:59 p.m. on July 11 to allow California to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. READ MORE
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Embezzlement Case a Legal Tarn
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An Aspen woman faces a felony theft charge, a civil lawsuit and a contested bankruptcy after allegedly stealing nearly $134,000 from her former employer, according to court and police records, the Aspen Daily Times reported. Andrea Nicole Tinsley is charged with one count of class 3 felony theft and is scheduled for her first court appearance Aug. 4. The charge stems from allegations that Tinsley embezzled funds while working in marketing and administration for Roaring Fork Neurology, which operates NeuroSpa centers. READ MORE
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The Most Startling Corporate Bankruptcies of 2025 (So Far)
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Corporate bankruptcy filings have been on the rise since 2022, with more businesses filing for court protection each quarter since June of that year, according to data from the U.S. courts, The Street reported. The reasons for this sharp increase in companies’ financial woes are many, and while they certainly vary between industries and individual businesses, certain factors have been taking a toll across the board. The rate of inflation peaked in June of 2022 at over 9%, and while it’s mostly been falling since then, that doesn’t mean that prices are going down; it just means they’re not going up as quickly. READ MORE
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Judge OKs $30M Emergency Loan for Bankrupt Owner of Three CT Hospitals as Payroll Crisis Looms
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With $18 million in payroll due next week, bankrupt hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings asked a judge to approve $30 million in emergency debt financing as it faces a cash crunch, CT Insider reported. Prospect, which owns Waterbury, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, said that it needed the cash infusion to avoid layoffs and service cuts at its hospitals in California and Connecticut. Prospect, a for-profit company with private-equity backing, filed for bankruptcy in January, citing debts in the $1 billion to $10 billion range. READ MORE
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Watchdog Slams OpenAI with IRS Complaint — Warning CEO Sam Altman Is Poised for Windfall in Violation of U.S. Tax Law
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A tech watchdog has lodged a formal complaint against OpenAI with the Internal Revenue Service — warning that CEO Sam Altman looks poised to reap a stake worth billions in violation of U.S. tax laws, the New York Post reported. The artificial intelligence juggernaut’s board is riddled with conflicts of interest that enable Altman and key OpenAI board members to amass personal financial gains. The group claims that Altman’s simultaneous status as both CEO of OpenAI’s for-profit operations and holding a seat on its nonprofit board “creates an inherent conflict where Altman sits on both sides of negotiations that would personally benefit him at the nonprofit’s expense.” READ MORE
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Federal Officials Say a Prominent Georgia Republican Was Running a $140 Million Ponzi Scheme
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A prominent Georgia Republican was running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 300 investors of at least $140 million, the Associated Press reported. The civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said First Liberty Building and Loan, controlled by Brant Frost IV, lied to investors about its business of making high-interest loans to companies. Instead, it raised more money to repay earlier investors. Frost is alleged to have taken more than $19 million of investor funds for himself, his family and affiliated companies even as the business was going broke. READ MORE
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50 Cent Bankruptcy Case Reopened to Consider Abuse Allegations
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A Connecticut judge reopened 50 Cent’s bankruptcy and directed a New York court to consider whether a woman’s $20 million abuse allegations against the rapper should be tossed, Bloomberg Law reported. Once the New York state court rules on 50 Cent’s motion to dismiss the suit, the bankruptcy court can then address whether the claims were discharged through his chapter 11 case. The plaintiff in February filed a summons in New York County Supreme Court against the rapper, whose given name is Curtis Jackson, seeking $20 million and other costs related to personal injuries she said she suffered from him. READ MORE
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Bitcoin Jumps to Record on Institutional Investor Demand
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Bitcoin rallied to an all-time high, powered by demand from institutional investors and crypto-friendly policies from President Donald Trump's administration, Reuters reported. The world's largest cryptocurrency rose to a peak of $116,781.10 in the Asian session, taking its gains for the year so far to more than 24%. It was last trading at $116,563.11. In March, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, and has appointed several crypto-friendly individuals. READ MORE
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