%1

The total 43,425 bankruptcy filings for March represented a 39 percent increase over the 31,221 filings during the previous month of February, according to data provided by Epiq. Similarly, the 41,150 total noncommercial filings for March represented a 41 percent increase from the February 2021 noncommercial filing total of 29,256. The 2,275 total commercial filings in March represented a 16 percent increase from the 1,965 total commercial filings during the previous month. Commercial chapter 11 filings decreased 9 percent in March to 384 from the 420 commercial chapter 11 filings in February.

Even after the pandemic ends, the retail sector is on track to close more than 80,000 stores, a 9-percent drop, as consumers continue their shift to online shopping, The Hill reported. "An enduring legacy of the pandemic is that online penetration rose sharply," wrote UBS analyst Michael Lasser. "We expect that it will continue to increase, which will drive further rationalization of retail stores, especially as some of the unique support measures from the government subside." Over a quarter of those stores will come from the clothing and accessory subsector, though office supply stores are projected to lose 45 percent of their current locations, more than 3,000 stores. Stores specializing in home improvement, grocery stores and auto parts stores will see minimal impact. The potential decline in retail could pose a significant challenge in a changing economic landscape, shifting jobs toward online fulfillment centers and putting pressure on the value of commercial real estate. The analysis assumes that online penetration will grow from its current 18 percent to 27 percent by 2026, meaning the shift to online shopping would accelerate considerably even as the pandemic continues.

Airplane-parts maker Tect Aerospace Group Holdings Inc. has filed for bankruptcy ahead of a planned asset sale, hurt by Boeing Co. ’s halt on production of the 737 MAX jetliner and by travel reductions during the coronavirus pandemic, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Wichita, Kan.-based manufacturer has arranged a $60.2 million financing package from Boeing to maintain operations during the chapter 11 case, filed Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Boeing has the option to use its debt as currency to buy the business, according to court papers. Tect parts are used in flight controls, fuselage and other sections of both civilian and military aircraft world-wide. The company said it has 381 full-time employees at its headquarters, at a manufacturing plant in Everett, Wash., and at facilities in Wellington, Kan., and Park City, Kan. The pandemic, coupled with last year’s halt in 737 MAX production, caused purchase cutbacks and production stoppages in the aircraft industry, severely impacting Tect, Chief Restructuring Officer Shaun Martin said in a sworn declaration.

Some Democratic policy goals in President Biden’s wide-ranging $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan could soon face a familiar obstacle: arcane Senate rules that limit what type of legislation lawmakers can approve along party lines, the Wall Street Journal reported. While Mr. Biden and top Democrats have said they are hoping to approve the legislation with bipartisan support, many Republicans have sharply criticized the plan’s proposed tax increases on companies. The Republican opposition to the plan has left Democrats preparing to advance the package through reconciliation, a process that allows lawmakers to skirt the 60-vote threshold required for most legislation. Democratic aspirations for approving legislation along party lines received a boost on Monday when the chamber’s parliamentarian indicated that lawmakers could use the procedure multiple times in one fiscal year. But even if Democrats can employ the process more frequently, measures passed through reconciliation will still need to comply with a number of Senate rules, including that they have a direct impact on the budget. Those rules could mean that several provisions in the plan, including labor rules and a clean electricity standard, may have to be removed from or amended in the final legislation, according to lawmakers and aides. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he expected several favored measures to be disallowed under the Senate rules. In particular, a push to bring back earmarks — which allow lawmakers to designate specific projects for funding — may be ruled out of bounds, he said.

Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator, is currently not taking a position on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for passengers before traveling, a company spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. The company’s statement comes just a day after rival Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said it would mandate travelers be vaccinated under a proposed plan to restart U.S. cruises in July. The U.S. cruise industry is currently under a “no-sail order” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last week, the agency updated its guidance for the resumption of passenger voyages, which included the need for COVID-19 vaccinations and more frequent reporting of coronavirus infections from cruise operators.

A wave of foreclosures and evictions threatens to arrive when pandemic-related pauses expire later this year, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering restrictions on mortgage servicers that would spread the hit into 2022, the New York Times reported. More than 3 million households are behind on their mortgage payments, and nearly 1.7 million will run out their forbearance periods in September, according to the bureau. “We are at really an unusual point in history,” said Diane Thompson, a senior adviser at the bureau. “I don’t think anybody has ever before seen this many mortgages in forbearance at one time that are expected to exit at one time.” So the bureau has come up with a proposal to ensure that homeowners don’t go straight from forbearance to foreclosure. The agency proposed a new rule that would prevent servicers from starting foreclosure proceedings until after Dec. 31. The intent, bureau officials said, is to give borrowers coming off forbearance time to consider their options, such as whether they need a mortgage modification to reduce their monthly payments. The restriction would apply only to mortgages on homes used as primary residences. The agency also proposed a rule change that would allow servicers to extend loan modification offers to borrowers experiencing a COVID-related hardship without undertaking the full review normally required to adjust a mortgage. The intention is to let lenders quickly offer borrowers more affordable terms, so long as the change does not increase the borrower’s monthly payment or extend the loan’s term by more than 40 years.

Interviews with dozens of researchers and Americans still waiting for aid reveal ongoing problems with disbursing the $1,400 stimulus payments, processing 2020 tax refunds, administering unemployment insurance checks, and dispensing housing aid to people behind on rent and utilities, the Washington Post reported. As the Biden administration vows to deliver a more equal economic recovery, one of its biggest challenges is getting money into the hands of people who are still jobless or underemployed, so they don’t fall further behind. Experts say the administrative stumbles underscore the need for massive upgrades in technology, more staffing and clear program guidelines so the nation isn’t caught flat-footed for the next crisis. Biden stressed Friday that his American Rescue Plan is making a difference and that by the middle of this week, 130 million households will have received their stimulus payments, with more funds on the way to schools, small businesses and local communities. One of the areas with clear glitches is the disbursement of the latest round of stimulus payments. About 30 million Americans who should have automatically received the $1,400 payments are still waiting, more than three weeks after Biden signed the $1.9 trillion relief package. These people do not normally file tax returns because their income is so low, they don’t usually need to. But the federal government has their information to send them their stimulus payments, because they currently receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability payments; or Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Board or Veterans Affairs benefits. The Internal Revenue Service said it was delayed in sending out these payments because it was waiting for information from the Social Security Administration and other government agencies. However, the December stimulus payments did not have the same holdup. The IRS said that it was doing everything it could to expedite the process and that the payments for the remaining Social Security beneficiaries should arrive in bank accounts by Wednesday. The agency had to recheck who was eligible for payments in the new tax year, an extra hurdle that didn’t exist in December, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Big companies are making plans to stick with city-center office buildings, but they are cutting back on space and driving down rent prices for years to come, according to an analysis of U.S. office leasing trends prepared for The Wall Street Journal. Landlord and tenant discussions in seven of the largest office markets offer an early glimpse into the evolving workplace strategies for hundreds of companies after a year of largely remote work. Rent proposals made during the first quarter suggest that many companies in the biggest markets — including New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles — are embracing an emerging hybrid model: maintaining a shrunken office presence while allowing employees to work remotely at least part-time. The terms under negotiation show landlords are offering long-term leases of four and more years at discounts up to 13% below rent rates reached in the first quarter of 2020 when factoring in concessions like periods of free rent, according to VTS. Companies are also seeking on average about 10% less space than they were looking for in the first quarter of 2020.