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At least 42 hospitals across the U.S. have closed or entered bankruptcy this year, and the financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may force more hospitals to do the same in coming months, according to an analysis in Becker's Hospital Review. COVID-19 has created a cash crunch for many hospitals across the nation. They're estimated to lose $200 billion between March 1 and June 30, according to a report from the American Hospital Association. More than $161 billion of the expected revenue losses will come from canceled services, including nonelective surgeries and outpatient treatment. Moody's Investors Service said the sharp declines in revenue and cash flow caused by the suspension of elective procedures could cause more hospitals to default on their credit agreements this year than in 2019. Read more.

For more on hospital and health care insolvencies, be sure to pick up a copy of the ABI Health Care Insolvency Manual, Third Edition from the ABI Bookstore. 

With each week, more data emerges to show how the COVID-19 pandemic is permanently reshaping the restaurant industry, Bloomberg News reported. The world is currently on track for a radical overhaul of its food-service landscape: Hundreds have filed for bankruptcy over the last three months, according to consulting firm Aaron Allen & Associates, and the situation is poised to keep worsening. “Based on our estimates, we believe up to 10% of all restaurants globally will disappear, with 20% or more also going through a restructuring process,” said founder Aaron Allen. “This is a conservative case, in our view.” Allen estimates there are about 22 million restaurants worldwide, so the projection implies that 2.2 million of them will close. In the U.S., the industry employs 15.6 million workers, according to the National Restaurant Association. OpenTable, which tracks restaurant activity via reservations, estimates the failure rate could be even higher. Even before the global pandemic caused a dramatic and unprecedented shift in consumer behavior, the restaurant industry was suffering from rising debt and too much competition.

Unsecured creditors of Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. will challenge the bankrupt retailer’s restructuring plan, seeking to file a competing proposal that would take aim at Neiman’s private-equity owners over a spinoff of the MyTheresa e-commerce business, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Neiman filed for bankruptcy in May, proposing to put lenders and bondholders in control of the department-store chain and cancel more than $5 billion in debt. Under the company plan, Neiman’s lenders would also provide a $750 million loan to the retailer when it exits bankruptcy. MyTheresa, a fast-growing European business, isn’t part of Neiman’s bankruptcy and is partly owned by Neiman’s private-equity backers, Ares Management Corp. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The official unsecured creditors' committee is seeking permission to file a competing proposal that would overlap with the company’s in most respects — but would preserve the right to sue the shareholders over MyTheresa, according to court papers filed on Sunday. The creditors’ committee includes Marble Ridge Capital LP, a bondholder that has been battling the company over that asset transfer, and other Neiman creditors such as Chanel Inc. Judge David Jones of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston said yesterday in a hearing that the creditors committee may only file a rival plan under seal. The plan, to be filed by July 15, will be viewed only by the judge, Neiman Marcus, its lawyers and advisers. The committee is seeking to end Neiman’s sole right to set its restructuring terms at a hearing scheduled for July 17.

President Trump has told aides he is largely supportive of sending Americans another round of stimulus checks, believing the payments will boost the economy and help his chances at reelection in November, the Washington Post reported. However, leading congressional Republicans and some senior White House officials remain skeptical of sending more checks, creating a rift within conservative circles that could have significant consequences for the stimulus package set to be taken up by lawmakers in July. The White House has not officially taken a position on the matter. In March, Congress approved stimulus payments of up to $1,200 per person for every American citizen earning less than $75,000 per year as part of the CARES Act. The Internal Revenue Service had, as of the beginning of June, sent these payments to more than 159 million American households. Many economists say the checks provided needed relief as unemployment surged across the country, but they also generated significant controversy because of glitches in getting the money to taxpayers and the Treasury Department’s decision to put Trump’s name on the mailed checks, as well as a letter that included his 2016 campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” House Democrats included another round of $1,200 stimulus checks in the bill they approved last month, but the GOP position on the measure has remained murky.

More than 700 U.S. cities have halted plans to improve roadways, buy new equipment and complete a wide array of upgrades to water systems and other critical infrastructure, as government officials slash spending to shore up the massive holes in their budgets created by the coronavirus, the Washington Post reported. The decision to suspend or terminate some of these long-planned purchases, upgrades and repairs threatens to worsen municipal services and harm local businesses, according to the National League of Cities, which deduced from a new survey released today that more federal aid is necessary to ensure that local financial woes do not imperil the country’s economic recovery. Cities had already predicted they would need about $500 billion from Washington to help cover the massive, unanticipated declines in tax revenue and other costs incurred from the pandemic, which has shuttered businesses and left millions of Americans out of work. But federal lawmakers have been unwilling to authorize such a cash infusion, forcing many cities to take drastic steps to balance their budgets for fiscal 2021, which for many governments begins on July 1.