%1

President Biden today will formally order a 100-day government review of potential vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains for critical items, including computer chips, medical gear, electric-vehicle batteries and specialized minerals, the Washington Post reported. The directive comes as U.S. automakers are grappling with a severe shortage of semiconductors, essential ingredients in the high-tech entertainment and navigation systems that fill modern passenger vehicles. Biden’s executive order, which he is scheduled to sign this afternoon, also is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the shortages of personal protective gear such as masks and gloves experienced last year during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re going to get out of the business of reacting to supply chain crises as they arise,” said one administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to brief reporters. The president’s order, which had been anticipated, represents the partial fulfillment of a campaign pledge. But mandating a government study will be the easy part. Extensively modifying U.S. supply lines and reducing the country’s dependence upon foreign suppliers — after decades of globalization — could prove difficult and costly. Read more. 

Explore the many issues that arise when suppliers are unable to make deliveries of promised parts due to financial problems with ABI's Interrupted! Understanding Bankruptcy's Effects on Manufacturing Supply Chains. 

The House Budget Committee yesterday advanced President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on a 19-16 party-line vote, The Hill reported. The bill must be marked up by the House Rules Committee before consideration on the House floor, likely on Friday or Saturday. The legislation will then have to be taken up in the Senate, where it is expected to face considerable procedural and political challenges. "We are in a race against time. Aggressive, bold action is needed before our nation is more deeply and permanently scarred by the human and economic costs of inaction," Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said at the hearing. The bill includes $1,400 stimulus checks, extensions to emergency unemployment benefits, funding for vaccinations and testing, $129 billion for schools, increases to child tax credits and earned income tax credits, and a plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) noted that the legislation is widely popular, with some 70 percent public support, including half of Republicans.

Steak ’n Shake Inc. sued lender Fortress Investment Group LLC after the burger chain paid off debt coming due to avoid bankruptcy, accusing Fortress of misusing confidential information to mount a takeover bid, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Indiana-based milkshake-and-burger chain, backed by entrepreneur Sardar Biglari, said that Fortress obtained sensitive information through negotiations for a potential real estate deal with Steak ’n Shake, then used that knowledge to build an $89 million position in the company’s loans. After acquiring the loans, Fortress made clear it “would not accept a negotiated repayment” and said it “would either force the company to repay the loans in full or file for bankruptcy,” according to the complaint. Steak ’n Shake paid off the loans in full on Friday, spending nearly $103 million to retire the debts and avoid a bankruptcy filing, the company said. Steak ’n Shake’s lawsuit, filed Friday in Marion County Superior Court in Indiana, seeks to recoup alleged losses from Fortress’s actions. Fortress didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The owner of vegan restaurant chain By Chloe has named its bankruptcy lenders as the lead bidders to acquire its assets out of chapter 11, with hopes to get the proposed sale approved by next week, the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The chain’s bankrupt parent BC Hospitality Group Inc., designated a group of investors as the stalking horse bidders, according to records filed on Saturday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., setting the minimum price for other potential bidders to beat. Under the agreement, the stalking horse bidders would acquire 100% of the equity interests of the company in exchange for a credit bid, equal to the $3.25 million in bankruptcy financing they provided, according to court papers. The investor group includes Qoot International UK Ltd., along with equity investor Kitchen Fund LP, private-equity firms Lion Capital LLP, investment firm Bain Capital LP, and venture-capital firm Simple Capital Management LLC.

The U.S. affiliate of a large international airline filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy on Feb. 12, the South Florida Business Journal reported. Fort Lauderdale-based Norwegian Air Resources US Inc. filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to court filings. The filing is part of a larger reorganization strategy from parent company Norwegian Air Shuttle, an international airline that connected Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to international destinations including Amsterdam; Madrid; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm; Barcelona, Spain; and Paris. International travel, especially to Europe, has been close to nonexistent because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries have placed regulations on travel to and from the U.S. The Norwegian Air subsidiary had $921,000 in total assets and $5.3 million in total liabilities, according to court documents. In addition to the bankruptcy filing, Norwegian Air Resources US filed a Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice with the state Feb. 12. The company said it permanently laid off 152 workers at FLL, effective Feb. 11.