Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Wednesday, Dec. 24. In today's briefing, inflation-strained shoppers are increasingly buying secondhand holiday gifts, boosting thrift retailers as more consumers turn to used items to save money despite lingering stigma. And a Baltimore jury hit Johnson & Johnson with a more than $1.5 billion verdict in a talc cancer case in the company’s largest single-plaintiff loss to date.

The WSJ Pro Bankruptcy newsletter is taking a break for the holidays and will return Jan. 2. See you in the new year!

This year, some of Santa’s gifts have been given before.

More consumers are buying used jewelry, toy cars and other gifts than in previous years, risking the disappointment of extended family and friends to keep their budgets in check because of inflation and other financial pressures.

The shift is lifting ThredUp, Savers Value Village and other thrift retailers, which usually see sales slow during the holidays and have been taking steps to reduce the stigma around used items.

Some 82% of roughly 1,800 U.S. shoppers surveyed by eBay said they are more likely to purchase secondhand gifts this year compared with last year. Likewise, nearly half of the 8,200 American consumers the National Retail Federation surveyed said they might buy used to save money this holiday season.

Azul has received U.S. bankruptcy judge approval for its chapter 11 plan, clearing the way for a balance-sheet overhaul less than seven months after the Brazilian airline sought court protection.

Judge Sean H. Lane of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the largely consensual plan, overruling objections from the U.S. Trustee related to third-party releases, exculpation provisions and certain fees.

The plan is expected to cut more than $3 billion of debt, in part through the equitization of certain secured claims, and to bolster liquidity via an equity rights offering of up to $950 million, most of it backstopped by existing stakeholders. Azul also renegotiated aircraft leases as part of an effort to optimize its fleet. More than 92% of creditors in each voting class supported the plan following a global settlement with secured noteholders and unsecured creditors. Azul said the restructuring preserves jobs for more than 15,000 employees.

• Earlier: Azul files for chapter 11 protection in the U.S., becoming the latest Latin American carrier to seek bankruptcy following prolonged industry headwinds.

A Baltimore jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $1.5 billion to a Maryland woman who said the company’s talc-based baby powder caused her cancer.

The verdict is the largest against the company for a single plaintiff, according to her lawyers. Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal the verdict, calling it “egregious and patently unconstitutional.”

The jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City awarded Cherie Craft $59.8 million in compensatory damages and imposed $1.5 billion in punitive damages against J&J and its subsidiary Pecos River Talc. Craft said longtime use of Johnson’s Baby Powder exposed her to asbestos and led to her mesothelioma diagnosis in January 2024.

J&J has faced thousands of lawsuits linking its talc baby powder to cancer. The company has previously attempted to resolve the litigation through a bankruptcy settlement, but those efforts have been rebuffed by courts. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury awarded $966 million in a similar mesothelioma case.

"These lawsuits are predicated on 'junk science,' refuted by decades of studies, that demonstrate Johnson's Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer," said Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of litigation for Johnson & Johnson, in a statement.

—Nicholas G. Miller

S&P Global Ratings downgraded the corporate credit of China Vanke to selective default on certain obligations.

Vanke extended the grace period on its bond to Jan. 28, 2026, from Dec. 22. S&P said the extension is viewed as distressed debt restructuring and reflects concerns about Vanke’s ability to meet financial commitments in full and on time. A selective default rating indicates that the firm has failed to make required payments or otherwise defaulted on specific financial obligations, although other parts of the capital structure may remain unaffected.

S&P said the downgrade doesn’t carry an outlook, underscoring that the action was driven by observed payment failure rather than a forward-looking assessment of deteriorating credit trends. The decision illustrates rising credit stress among some China developers amid a challenging property market and tighter financial conditions.

The Education Department said Tuesday that it will resume garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers who are in default starting early next year.

The department said it expects the first notices to be sent to about 1,000 borrowers in default the week of Jan. 7, and that the notices will increase in scale monthly. It said wage garnishment is conducted only after student and parent borrowers have been provided sufficient notice and opportunity to repay their loans.

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