At least seven large companies filed for chapter 11 protection in less than 48 hours, a breakneck pace of restructurings that included once-hot digital-broadcaster Vice Media LLC and KKR & Co.-backed Envision Healthcare Corp., Bloomberg News reported. That’s the largest number of filings on record during a two-day period since at least 2008, according to Bloomberg-compiled data on companies with at least $50 million of liabilities. And it comes as two Federal Reserve officials signaled that they favor a pause in their aggressive monetary-tightening campaign amid the ongoing fallout in credit markets. Firms across every sector are struggling with higher interest costs — making it more challenging to refinance loans and bonds — while corporate executives are drawing more scrutiny from investors and creditors. The weekend also saw filings from home security company Monitronics International Inc., chemical producer Venator Materials Plc, oil producer Cox Operating LLC, fire protection firm Kidde-Fenwal Inc. and biotechnology company Athenex Inc.
