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. 12, 2021]
Bloomberg examines the stablecoin Tether and the increasing regulatory and public concerns over its liquidity. The $69 billion worth of “stable coin” in circulation is supposed to be backed by one U.S. dollar for each issuance, but the size of Tether’s dollar reserves, which some critics argue do not exist, now threatens wider, systemic risk to the financial system. [Bloomberg; Oct. 7, 2021]
The Wall Street Journal reports that a New York bankruptcy judge overseeing the chapter 11 case of the owners of the Williamsburg Hotel rejected attempts by the U.S. Trustee to replace hotel management and to convert the case to a chapter 7 liquidation, allowing the case to proceed with a proposed restructuring plan. [WSJ; Oct. 6, 2021]
Reuters reports on a recent decision from the Tenth Circuit finding that a 2017 law that increased fees payable to the U.S. Trustee is unconstitutional because it fails to apply the fees uniformly in all states, including the states that have bankruptcy administrators instead. This decision deepens a split among the circuits on this issue, with the Second and Tenth Circuits finding violations of the U.S. Constitution’s bankruptcy uniformity requirement on the one hand, and the Fourth and Fifth Circuits upholding the 2017 law on the other. [Reuters; Oct. 5, 2021]