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April 4 (Reuters) - Federal appeals court judges on Tuesday appeared skeptical of 3M's (MMM.N) bid to use the bankruptcy of its subsidiary Aearo Technologies to shield itself from nearly 260,000 lawsuits over allegedly defective military-issue earplugs. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to reverse a bankruptcy court order allowing the lawsuits to move forward against 3M, even though Aearo is bankrupt. Aearo and 3M said the bankruptcy process would facilitate a fair and comprehensive settlement with the plaintiffs. David Frederick, representing the plaintiffs, told the panel that 3M "contrived this bankruptcy to help itself, not Aearo or its creditors." The next-largest MDL, the Johnson & Johnson talc litigation, has 38,000 cases.

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowApril 4 (Reuters) - A Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) subsidiary filed for bankruptcy a second time on Tuesday, seeking to complete a $8.9 billion settlement of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause cancer. J&J subsidiary LTL Management's first bankruptcy was dismissed earlier on Tuesday, after an appellate court ruled that the neither J&J not LTL were in the type of "financial distress" that made them eligible for bankruptcy. The new bankruptcy filing includes a proposal to pay $8.9 billion over 25 years to resolve all current and future talc claims, according to J&J. The settlement is supported by over 60,000 current claimants, J&J said in a statement. J&J said that its settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, nor an indication that the company has changed its longstanding position that its talcum powder products are safe.

[1/2] The statue of a scout stands in the entrance to Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas, February 5, 2013. More than a dozen insurers, including Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, have said the Boy Scouts' bankruptcy settlement puts them on the hook for paying "thousands of invalid and questionable claims." The Boy Scouts settlement, approved in bankruptcy court in September, was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts' two largest insurers. The Boy Scouts organization said Friday it would oppose any effort to delay bankruptcy exit. The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 after several U.S. states enacted laws allowing accusers to sue over decades-old abuse allegations.

☆ Johnson & Johnson unit loses bid to stay in bankruptcy during Supreme Court appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowMarch 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Friday declined to delay the dismissal of a Johnson & Johnson company's (JNJ.N) bankruptcy, directing the bankruptcy to be dismissed despite a planned U.S. Supreme Court appeal that could revive the company's effort to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products in bankruptcy. J&J maintains its consumer talc products are safe and asbestos-free. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia ruled that LTL's bankruptcy should be dismissed because neither LTL nor J&J had a legitimate need for bankruptcy protection because they were not in "financial distress." LTL asked the 3rd Circuit to delay its ruling from taking effect until the company has time to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 3rd Circuit denied that request in a brief written order Friday, instead directing the a U.S. bankruptcy judge to close LTL's bankruptcy case.

March 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday affirmed the Boy Scouts of America's $2.46 billion settlement of decades of sex abuse claims, rejecting appeals by some of the group's insurers and abuse claimants. The Boy Scouts settlement, approved in bankruptcy court in September, was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts' two largest insurers. The Boy Scouts organization said it was "enormously grateful" to abuse survivors who spoke out about their experiences and who voted to support the settlement. The judge rejected insurers' appeals that argued the Boy Scouts organization colluded with abuse claimants to shift liability to insurers. The Boy Scouts also contributed additional insurance rights, which may be worth more than $4 billion, to the fund will pay abuse claims, according to Andrews' ruling.

☆ Judge halts Voyager Digital's $1.3 bln sale to Binance.US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday temporarily stopped bankrupt Voyager Digital (VYGVQ.PK) from completing a proposed $1.3 billion sale to crypto exchange Binance.US, allowing the U.S. government more time to pursue appeals that challenge the legality of the deal. Trustee, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) bankruptcy watchdog, filed appeals in early March over a bankruptcy court's approval of the sale. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. Those assets, valued at $1.3 billion in February, account for the bulk of the deal's valuation, according to Voyager. Binance.US maintains publicly that it is entirely independent of Binance.com, operating as the "U.S. partner" to the world's biggest crypto exchange.

☆ FTX reaches deal to recover over $400 mln from hedge fund Modulo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 22 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has reached a deal to recover more than $400 million in cash from hedge fund Modulo Capital, pulling back 97% of the money that FTX companies sent to the hedge fund in 2022, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. FTX's new CEO, John Ray, has said his top priority was recovering assets to repay FTX customers. Alameda, at the direction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, had paid $25 million to acquire a stake in Modulo and contributed $450 million to an investment fund managed by Modulo, according to the filings. FTX also agreed to not take further actions against Modulo or its principals Xiaoyun Zhang and Duncan Rheingans-Yoo related to the 2022 payments, according to the filings. FTX has previously recovered more than $5 billion in its quest to repay customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange.

☆ Apple will require a subscription to watch 'Friday Night Baseball' this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Broadcasts of Major League Baseball games on Apple TV+ this season will require a subscription to the service, Apple announced on Wednesday. In 2022, Apple started broadcasting one or two MLB games every Friday night with a rotating cast of teams. Now, users will need an Apple TV+ subscription, which costs $7 per month in the U.S. While some games will air for free, a subscription with access to all games costs $14.99 per month, with a discount if the person also subscribes to Apple TV+. Apple said the first "Friday Night Baseball" doubleheader broadcast will take place on April 7, featuring the Texas Rangers at the Chicago Cubs followed by the San Diego Padres at the Atlanta Braves.

California banking regulators on March 10 closed Silicon Valley Bank in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Kurt Gwynne, an attorney for the FDIC as receiver for Silicon Valley Bank, disputed at Tuesday's hearing that regulators had done anything improper. Destroyed SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) logo is seen in this illustration taken March 13, 2023. Glenn said he was prepared to allow SVB Financial to use up to $100 million for investment activity. Silicon Valley Bank was SVB Financial's largest asset, accounting for more than $15.5 billion of SVB Financial's $19.7 billion in total assets.

Companies FTX Trading Limited FollowMarch 20 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX on Sunday sued the liquidators overseeing the wind-down of its Bahamian affiliate FTX Digital Markets, accusing them of wrongly claiming ownership of the exchange's assets. FTX called FTX DM a "fraudulent enterprise", initially set up only to be a "local service company", which did not own the FTX.com exchange or any of the cryptocurrency seized. FTX has been at odds with Bahamian officials ever since filing for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings against FTX DM a day before the U.S. bankruptcy filing of FTX Trading and more than 100 affiliates, and the two sides have sparred over ownership of FTX assets and access to company data. FTX reported this month that Bankman-Fried took $2.2 billion in funds from the company during a period when the crypto exchange lost $8 billion of customer money.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's parent company cut off from bank's records
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SVB Financial has no employees of its own, and the new bank's employees "cut off access" to a substantial portion of SVB Financial's "books, records, files, electronic systems and key employees," according to Kosturos. The FDIC receivership removed SVB Financial's primary source of liquidity and most of its business infrastructure, as well as triggering defaults on SVB Financial's debt, forcing the company into bankruptcy, according to court documents. SVB Financial's court filings listed $19 billion in assets, $2.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and $3.4 billion in liabilities. About $15.5 billion of SVB Financial's asset value was attributed to the SVB banking business that was seized by regulators. Those investment funds include direct venture funds that invest in companies, funds-of-funds that invest in other venture capital funds, and debt funds that provide lending and other financing solutions to startups.

March 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge declined to delay the $1.3 billion sale of crypto lender Voyager Digital to Binance.US, saying Voyager customers should not be forced to wait out a challenge by the Department of Justice that is unlikely to succeed. The government can "can step in at any time" if it believes illegal transactions are happening, but has not presented any evidence that Voyager's crypto transactions are illegal, Wiles said. They argued that the protections could rubber stamp crypto transactions that might be illegal under U.S. securities laws. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. Reporting by Dietrich Knauth in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ There'll be a 'severe earnings recession' in U.S. banking: Strategist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'Severe earnings recession' in U.S. banking as long as there's an inverted yield curve: StrategistPaul Dietrich of B. Riley Wealth Management says that will keep the banking sector down for "quite a long time."

☆ Google wasted its pandemic opportunity. Now, it's scrambling to catch up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This Amazon worker similarly enjoys office life. The company is currently also lagging in the AI space (thanks to the buzzy AI chatbot ChatGPT). Now, the company is going all in on AI instead. Check out his experiences with the AI tools here. It remains the only Big Tech company to avoid widespread layoffs.

☆ US government appeals approval of Voyager sale to Binance.US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Trustee, the Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog, filed a notice of appeal late Thursday in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Voyager, Binance.US and the DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the appeal. Wiles disagreed, saying that Voyager and its employees should not be penalized for carrying out a court-approved sale to Binance.US. In approving the plan, Wiles had also overruled an objection from the SEC, saying that it attempted to cast doubt on the legality of the sale without presenting any evidence that Voyager or Binance.US had violated securities laws. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and to take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers.

☆ Celsius Network remains open to other bids after NovaWulf offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network on Wednesday revealed that it was speaking to another potential buyer and will seek additional bids, despite having an offer in hand from asset manager NovaWulf Digital Management. Glenn agreed to give Celsius an extra three weeks to file a Chapter 11 plan. With NovaWulf's offer in hand, Celsius should be able to exit from bankruptcy by June, less than a year after it filed for Chapter 11, Koenig said. If Celsius chooses an alternate bidder, Koenig said, it intends to offer NovaWulf up to $20 million in breakup fees. "If there is a higher offer, it will be because of the floor set by NovaWulf," Koenig said.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved Voyager's restructuring plan, which is built around the Binance.US acquisition, at a hearing in New York. Binance has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and to take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. The customers' crypto assets, valued at $1.3 billion in February, account for the bulk of the deal's valuation, according to Voyager. Wiles approval of Voyager's plan allows it to begin transferring customer accounts to Binance, but Voyager could still walk away from the deal. Palo Alto-based Binance.US has said it is "fully independent" of its international parent company Binance, which is owned by Chinese-born and Singapore-based Changpeng Zhao.

The SEC, which has objected to the sale, is currently investigating whether Voyager's crypto lending business involved the sale of unregistered securities. When pressed by Wiles as to whether the SEC believed that the Voyager sale violated U.S. securities laws, SEC attorney William Uptegrove did not have a definite answer. The Binance transaction includes a $20 million cash payment and an agreement to transfer Voyager's customers to Binance.US's crypto exchange. The crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers account for the bulk of the deal's valuation, according court documents. CFIUS did not formally object to the Binance sale, but it warned that its ongoing review of national security concerns could end up blocking the deal.

☆ Here are the top ways the world's ultra-rich spent their money last year, including pouring $455 billion into commercial real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The world's rich invested $455 billion in commercial properties in 2022, according to Knight Frank's wealth report. Whether in a private capacity or through a family office, the world's wealthy invested $455 billion in commercial properties, according to Knight Frank's wealth report released on Wednesday. Private capital also surpassed investments from institutions, which poured $440 billion in commercial property, down 28% from the year before. Investments in luxury collectibles increased by 16% last year, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index. Despite the increased investment, the world's ultra-rich ultimately lost $13.8 trillion, or 13.6%, of their wealth in 2022.

The Sandy Hook families said that they need specialized assistance to review Jones' assets, income, and ability to pay those verdicts. Jones filed preliminary financial statements earlier in February, but listed several trusts that held unknown assets. Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in December, saying he could afford to pay less than 1% of the judgments handed down in two Sandy Hook defamation trials. Lopez will decide in March if Jones has to face a third Sandy Hook defamation trial. The Sandy Hook families have expressed concern that Jones is using bankruptcy to limit payments on the defamation judgments while attempting to collect income outside of the bankruptcy court's oversight.

☆ Revlon reaches lender settlement, sends bankruptcy plan to vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jones said Revlon could now send its restructuring proposal to creditors for a vote, a key milestone in the company's bankruptcy case. Tuesday's deal does not change the terms of earlier settlements that Revlon reached with its senior lenders and junior creditors. The senior lenders will receive most of the company's equity, valued at $2.75 billion to $3.25 billion. Revlon is majority-owned by Ron Perelman's MacAndrew & Forbes, which held 85% of the company's shares at the time of its bankruptcy filing. The company's stock saw a surge in interest from retail investors last year, trading above $8 per share early in the company's bankruptcy.

☆ Celsius Network chooses NovaWulf bid for bankruptcy exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network will seek to exit bankruptcy under the guidance of asset manager NovaWulf Digital Management, which will take over the operations of a new company that will be owned by Celsius customers, the company said at a court hearing in Manhattan on Wednesday. Celsius selected NovaWulf's bid out of more than 130 proposals received during its bankruptcy case, saying that NovaWulf was the only finalist that intended to maintain long-term control over Celsius' harder-to-liquidate assets, like its loan portfolio and bitcoin mining business. Those assets would be owned by Celsius creditors and managed by NovaWulf under a profit-sharing agreement if Celsius' proposal is approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn, who is overseeing Celsius' Chapter 11 process. NovaWulf has agreed to pay up to $55 million to the reorganized company, which will be owned by Celsius creditors and will continue Celsius' bitcoin mining and loan businesses. Several creditor groups had opposed Celsius' request for more time to file a bankruptcy plan, but Celsius said that the court-appointed committee representing its customers approved the NovaWulf deal.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowFeb 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday denied calls for a new, independent investigation into the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, saying that the proposed investigation would be redundant to other investigations being carried out by FTX's new management and law enforcement. FTX and the committeee representing its junior creditors opposed that demand, saying that the proposed examiner would merely duplicate work already being done by FTX, its creditors, and law enforcement agencies. The proposed examination would also drain millions of dollars from FTX's limited funds, the company argued. FTX, once among the world's top crypto exchanges, shook the sector in November by filing for bankruptcy, leaving an estimated 9 million customers and investors facing billions of dollars in losses. Several former top executives, including Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, have pleaded guilty to fraud.

It would be the third defamation trial against Jones and his company Free Speech Systems, after two previous ones found Jones and FSS liable for a combined $1.5 billion in damages. A Texas court previously found them liable and the proposed trial would determine how much Jones owes the parents. He estimated a two-week trial would cost $600,000, reducing the amount of money available to pay Pozner, De La Rosa and other Sandy Hook parents with legal claims against him. Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in December after those two trials concluded, saying he could afford to pay less than 1% of the Sandy Hook defamation judgments. Sandy Hook parents raised concerns at Tuesday's hearing about Jones's recent recording of a podcast similar to his Alex Jones Show in a new studio space and under a brand not affiliated with FSS.

☆ 3 suspicious objects have been downed across North America this week. Officials have no idea where 2 of the UAP came from and the pilots who shot them down can't agree on what they even look like.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

US fighter aircraft shot down an object threatening airspace over Alaska yesterday. On Saturday, another unknown object, described as "cylindrical," was shot down over Canada. Here is what we know about the object shot down on Friday. The object shot down on Saturday was spotted in the Northern Canadian territory of Yukon. It is unclear if the object shot down off the Alaskan coast was of similar size or shape.

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