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Manhattan landlords are pulling unrented apartments off the market at an unusually elevated rate, tightening inventory while rents are low and, in some neighborhoods, still falling, the Wall Street Journal reported. The practice, sometimes known as “warehousing,” has come under greater scrutiny from housing advocates and lawmakers in recent years. Critics charge that removing units from the market creates an artificial scarcity that worsens the city’s housing shortage. Landlords say the decision to warehouse is a necessary response to both regulatory and economic changes, including heightened tenant eviction protections during the pandemic. Building owners removed 1,814 apartment listings in Manhattan last month, according to real-estate data analytics company UrbanDigs. That’s more than three times the number of apartments landlords removed from the market in February of 2020. Reduced demand for Manhattan apartments during the pandemic sent median rental prices down more than 17% for the year ending in December, according to a report from appraisal firm Miller Samuel and real-estate brokerage Douglas Elliman. Rent concessions of up to 25% off the previous year’s rent have become common at luxury buildings, and tenants say they have more negotiating power in new leases than they ever had before.

For aviation, a lot is riding on e-commerce right now — perhaps too much for its own long-term good, the Wall Street Journal reported. In the midst of the worst crisis for the industry ever, air freight has been a lifeline. The money yielded by each pound of cargo was 75% higher in January 2021 than a year earlier, the latest figures from data provider WorldACM show. Since few people are traveling, legacy airlines are planning their networks based on where they can fly goods, and have exploited regulatory exemptions allowing freight to fill passenger seats. Express shipping, which is often reliant on sending goods by air, has expanded rapidly during the pandemic as households turn to home deliveries. Purchases of manufactured products generally also have held up better than in previous downturns. Money is chasing the higher freight rates. On Wednesday, Chilean carrier LATAM Airlines, which recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., announced a big expansion of cargo operations. E-commerce giant Amazon is growing its fleet faster than planned before COVID-19, with a new focus on buying aircraft rather than leasing them. French container-shipping firm CMA CGM recently purchased four Airbus A330 jets to create an air-freight division. Shares in specialist cargo operators Atlas Air and Air Transport Services Group are up 100% and 29% since the start of the pandemic, respectively.

Mall owner Washington Prime Group is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing as time runs out to avert a default after it skipped an interest payment on its debt, according to people with knowledge of the plans, Bloomberg News reported. The real estate investment trust, which owns about 100 malls throughout the U.S., said last month that it would use a 30-day grace period to continue negotiations with its lenders. The plan to file for chapter 11 protection isn’t final and could change if negotiations evolve or the company’s grace period is extended, the people added. Short interest in the stock grew in late 2020, exceeding 30% of the outstanding shares as recently as October, according to Bloomberg data. The shares continued to trade as high as $7.49 even after the skipped debt payment. Day traders and Reddit investors began flocking to certain heavily shorted names in hopes of profiting when short sellers covered their bets. Columbus, Ohio-based Washington Prime has said that the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic could affect its ability to comply with debt covenants and continue operations, or remain a going concern “under certain circumstances.” It said in November that it was “actively negotiating” with debt holders to cut borrowings. At that time, Chief Executive Officer Lou Conforti emphasized that bankruptcy was not on the table. Washington Prime has been working with advisers from law firm Kirkland & Ellis and investment bank Guggenheim to help it handle its maturities, which include a first-lien term loan due in June. In December, it attempted to convert about $260 million worth of its unsecured bonds into $175 million of preferred equity issued by a new special purpose entity, but failed to reach an agreement with debt holders.

The Senate voted yesterday to open debate on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, as Democrats moved forward with no GOP support after failing to win over a single Republican senator on the new president’s first major legislative initiative, the Washington Post reported. The vote was 51 to 50, with Vice President Harris breaking the 50-to-50 tie. GOP unity against the procedural motion suggested that no Republican will vote in favor of the legislation on final passage, which will come after hours of debate and an amendment free-for-all that could drag into the weekend. Once it passes the Senate, the legislation will have to go back to the House for final approval before being sent to Biden’s desk for his signature. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has guaranteed the House will pass the Senate’s version of the bill, despite some changes that liberals dislike, including narrowing eligibility for $1,400 relief checks and excluding a $15 minimum wage.

Trinity Health Corp. has agreed to sell Chicago’s Mercy Hospital and Medical Center to a Flint, Michigan-based biomedical company that will keep the facility running, Bloomberg News reported. Insight, the potential buyer that intends to operate the facility as a full-service acute care hospital, is filing paperwork for the change of ownership with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, according to a statement from the company. The agreement is non-binding and final terms will be negotiated in the coming weeks, according to a statement from Mercy. “If the acquisition meets state regulatory approval, Insight plans to operate a community-based hospital that will serve patients from Bronzeville, Chicago’s South Side and the city of Chicago,” Jawad Shah, chief executive officer of Insight, said in the company’s statement. “We are committed to a thoughtful community engagement process to ensure access to care for Chicago’s diverse populations while achieving financial solvency.” The pandemic has exacerbated the financial struggles of many U.S. hospitals, including Mercy. Costs from treating COVID-19 patients have soared, and hospitals had to curtail profitable elective procedures. The proposed sale comes after Mercy Hospital filed for bankruptcy last month and Illinois health officials rejected plans by Mercy’s owner, Trinity, to close the 258-bed medical center and open an outpatient center on Chicago’s South Side. Read more.

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Valaris, the world’s largest offshore rig operator, has received approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court for its prearranged plan of reorganization filed as part of 2020 chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy, The Maritime Executive reported. Last August, Valaris reached a deal with half of its bondholders to reduce its debt and finance its continuing operations through the bankruptcy process. The bankruptcy plan will eliminate $7.1 billion of existing debt and will provide Valaris with a $520 million capital injection through the issuance of a secured note maturing in 2028. The plan received support from approximately 80 percent of the company’s unsecured noteholders and bank lenders representing all of the company’s credit facility claims. Also, approximately 81 percent of the company’s voting shareholders voted to accept the plan. Valaris has also reached an agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. to amend its two newbuild drillship contracts. The delivery dates are being extended to December 31, 2023, while the company has the option to take delivery early or terminate the contracts on a non-recourse basis. Final payments for the VALARIS DS-13 and VALARIS DS-14 are estimated to be approximately $119 million and $218 million. Formed in 2019 through the combination of Ensco and Rowan Drilling, Valaris became the leader in the industry at a time when the ultra-deepwater market was continuing to show strong weakness from the collapse in the price of oil. The company began efforts to “right-size and streamline the organization,” but the substantial downturn in the sector, and later the impact of the pandemic, forced the company to use a bankruptcy filing to future restructure its operations to lower operating costs and its debt.

A group of unsecured lenders to Hertz Global Holdings Inc. are proposing an alternative reorganization of the rental car company that would take it public, a move that counters a plan to sell the company to two investment funds for as much as $4.2 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The lenders want to convert their holdings in the bankrupt company into shares of the reorganized company, which could be traded publicly. If Hertz’s board were to accept that plan, it would supersede a bid from Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management to buy the company. The group believes the Knighthead bid, which values Hertz at $4.85 billion, is too low. Its members think Hertz has an enterprise value of $5 billion and would fetch more under their plan. The lenders have not submitted a formal proposal to Hertz and terms are still in flux. In one scenario being discussed, Hertz’s shares would become public upon emergence from bankruptcy. Members of the creditor group include Alliance Bernstein, Bank of America, Invesco, Fir Tree Partners, and JPMorgan Asset Management, according to court filings. Hertz’s board is in the early stages of evaluating proposals and will take the best bid. The company started negotiating with creditors and potential buyers in November, according to court documents. After talking with three bidders, Hertz settled on Knighthead and Certares, who jointly have a travel-focused investment fund.

The Down Town Association, the oldest social club in lower Manhattan and a former haven for New York and national power brokers, has filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The not-for-profit corporation, founded in 1859, has less than $75,000 in cash and property to cover $6.9 million in debt, most of which is owed to landlord Great Empire Realty, according to its bankruptcy petition filed Thursday in New York. It’s seeking to reorganize under chapter 11 protection using rules usually reserved for small businesses. Set in the shadow of the city’s financial district, the club’s location at 60 Pine Street dates from 1887 and is on a list of historic New York landmarks. In 2018, investor Benny Fong’s Great Empire paid $28.3 million for the building with plans to lease the property back to the club, according to New York trade publication <em>The Real Deal</em>. To attract members in recent years, the club resorted to offering discounts on nearby parking and shopping, including 15% off at Brooks Brothers, the mens clothier that also was forced into bankruptcy after a history of serving Wall Street titans. Among the assets listed in court papers were two billiard tables, 18 portraits of presidents and treasurers and an elk’s head.

U.S. travel demand remains low even as tens of millions of Americans get vaccinated for COVID-19, with just 12% planning a spring break trip this year, the industry said yesterday, Reuters reported. The industry has been devastated over the past year by the collapse in travel demand because of the pandemic. The U.S. Travel Association said polling that it commissioned suggested Americans remained wary about travel and that it was “far from clear when demand for travel will rebound on its own.” The industry again urged new tax credits to encourage leisure and business travel. “We really can’t recover until we get this pandemic under control,” said U.S. Travel Association Chief Executive Roger Dow, who added that corporate travel departments were still advising employees not to travel.