Bipartisan proposal for new small business provisions in Bankruptcy Code [American Bankruptcy Institute Journal; May 2019] Latest memo from Oaktree’s Howard Marks on why this time market cycle isn’t different [OakTree; June 12, 2019] Is the “vast” liquidity in the market a mirage?  Bloomberg chimes in [Bloomberg; June 13, 2019] Morgan Stanley Business Conditions Index fell by 32 points in June, the largest one-month decline on record [CNBC; June 13, 2019] Commodity Prices Set 50-Year Lows …

Without additional explanation, the Supreme Court recently denied NextEra’s request for further review of its $275 million break fee request following the scuttling of its multi-billion dollar transaction to acquire the majority of Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s assets (see item 8 under “Certiorari Denied” list here). Following the bankruptcy court’s reconsideration (and reversal) of its prior approval of such fee, and the Third Circuit’s opinion affirming that decision, NextEra petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that the…

Over the past several years in the US, commentators have noted the resurgence of covenant lite deals, including increasingly in the middle market and direct lending space.  When (as?) the credit cycle turns, naysayers worry that these structures may impact lender recoveries, as borrowers lack incentive to start restructuring discussions with their lenders until it may be too late. Here Stuart Brinkworth, the European head of leveraged finance at Mayer Brown, discusses similar developments in…

Long read from the International Financing Review on the 2017 failure of Banco Popular, one of Spain’s biggest banks  [IFR; June 7, 2019] At what may be the tail end of what will soon be the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, Matthew Klein from Barron’s explores when we’re actually in a “recession” [Barrons; June 4, 2019] Perla, Arkansas becomes first U.S. municipality to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy since 2015 [Bloomberg Law; May…