CNBC discusses how July’s inflation data should provide signs that there’s at least some relief in the pipeline for now, with consumer prices being flat for the month. The trend was mostly led by a fall in energy prices, although it was offset by gains in other items, including a 1.1% monthly rise in food
Reuters reports that Mahwah Bergen Retail Group – the former owner of the Ann Taylor retail clothing brand – obtained bankruptcy court approval of its revised reorganization plan, from which certain non-debtor releases were removed. The revised plan comes after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that the non-debtor releases
Tether – the world’s largest issuer of “stablecoin” – has come under increased media and regulatory scrutiny in recent months as concerns over its liquidity have grown. This, in turn, has led to increased concerns regarding the risk that Tether, and other stablecoin issuers, pose to the crypto economy specifically and to the global financial system more generally.
Continue Reading Is Stablecoin Stable? Media and Regulators Raise Concerns
CNBC discusses the Labor Department’s latest report on the U.S. labor market. According to the report, a record 4.3 million workers left their jobs in August, with workers in food service and retail industries leading the way. The number of job openings also saw a sharp decline during the month as hiring fell. [CNBC; Oct.
According to Bloomberg’s U.S. Bankruptcy Tracker, the amount of distressed bonds and loans traded in U.S. markets had the biggest weekly boost of this year, with distressed debt in the telecommunications and oil and gas industries driving the jump. [Bloomberg, Sept. 28, 2021]
The Wall Street Journal discusses a report issued by the Government
Business Insider reports that the U.S. economy added 559,000 new jobs in May, a rate of job creation that, if maintained, will take another 15 months for U.S. jobs to surpass the pre-pandemic peak. While labor shortages have emerged as an issue, economists predict that such shortages are likely to fade away as new school
Reuters reports that eleven U.S. airlines collectively issued $12.84 billion in cash refunds to customers in 2020 for flights canceled during the pandemic. The cash refunds come on top of billions of dollars of travel credits that are now being used at a rapid pace. [Reuters; May 28, 2021]
The New York Times reports that
The Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed the National Rifle Association’s (“NRA”) bankruptcy case on May 11, finding that the case was not filed in good faith. In his opinion, Judge Harlin Hale found that there was cause for dismissal because the case was filed “to gain unfair litigation advantage and … to avoid a state regulatory scheme,” neither of which he considered to be a purpose intended or sanctioned by the Bankruptcy Code.
Continue Reading NRA Bankruptcy Dismissed for Lack of Good Faith in Filing
In a January 2021 decision issued in the re-opened United Refining Company1 bankruptcy case, Judge Lopez of the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court addressed when a tort claim is deemed to arise for purposes of determining whether it was discharged. In particular, the court had to determine whether an asbestos-related claim arose at the time of exposure (in other words, the time at which the damaging act occurred) or at the time when the harm is diagnosed (in other words, when the claim was discovered). Complicating things for the court was a lack of records from the 1980s bankruptcy case at issue, which also led to uncertainty as to whether the claimant had notice of the bankruptcy. That in turn could have led to the conclusion that his claim had not been discharged regardless of the court’s determination of when the claim accrued. As discussed below, the Court concluded that the claim was a prepetition claim discharged under the plan, and that all creditors were bound by such plan absent a showing that there was no proper notice.
Continue Reading Opinion of Interest – In re United Refining Company: Destruction of Records and the Accrual of Tort Claims
The National Rifle Association (“NRA”), along with its wholly owned Texas subsidiary, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 15, 2021 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. The case already has presented several threshold issues and challenges that are of interest to both bankruptcy practitioners and the market as a whole.
Continue Reading The NRA Bankruptcy: What You Need to Know About the National Rifle Association’s Recent Chapter 11 Filing