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Daily Briefing: Bribery Probe Examines Nuclear Plant Owner; Boy Scouts Bargaining Table Expands; Mallinckrodt Faces Questions
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Good morning. Only months out of bankruptcy, the owner of two nuclear plants in Ohio is facing a criminal investigation from federal authorities, WSJ reports exclusively. The company, Energy Harbor Corp., was better known to newsletter readers as FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. before it emerged from chapter 11 last year with a new name and new owners.
It was also a busy day in the Wilmington, Del. bankruptcy court. Thousands of sex-abuse victims are making their case to participate in negotiations with the Boy Scouts of America, which is trying to chart a path out of chapter 11. And drugmaker Mallinckrodt hasn't brought some lenders on board with its strategy for handling vast opioid litigation.
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Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio.
RON SCHWANE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Bribery Probe Into a Nuclear Plant Bailout Examines Facilities’ Owner
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A criminal investigation into an alleged bribe to secure a bailout of troubled nuclear plants in Ohio is looking at the energy company that prosecutors say supplied some of the money and now owns the facilities, according to people familiar with the matter. Read More.
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More Sex-Abuse Victims Seek to Join Boy Scouts Settlement Talks
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About 7,300 men who say the Boy Scouts of America failed to protect them from sexual predators are waiting to hear if they can participate in talks aimed at calculating how much the organization must pay in a settlement. Read More.
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Mallinckrodt Faces Early Skeptics on Bankruptcy Strategy
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Mallinckrodt PLC said Wednesday it aims to broaden support for a planned bankruptcy restructuring and $1.6 billion settlement of opioid-related litigation, while representatives for some counties, tribes and lenders said they have problems with how the company wants to reorganize. Read More.
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Albertsons Wins Auction for Kings and Balducci’s Stores
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The bankrupt parent company of Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s named Albertsons Cos. the winner at a chapter 11 auction for the supermarket operators with a $96.4 million cash bid. Read More.
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Ann Taylor Parent Gets $35 Million Offer for Tween Brand Justice
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Ascena Retail Group Inc., the parent company of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant, got a $35 million offer to buy tween chain Justice out of bankruptcy and turn it into a primarily online brand. Read More.
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Empty storefronts are a sign of how the coronavirus pandemic has changed high-end retail.
NINA WESTERVELT/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Madison Avenue’s Prime Retail Properties Sell for Decade-Low Price
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Three buildings on Madison Avenue’s main retail corridor have sold for about 80% below peak sales prices in 2014, signaling that depressed Manhattan retail real-estate prices continue to tumble.
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United Airlines Hunkers Down for Long Air-Travel Drought
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United Airlines Holdings Inc. said it is positioning itself to ride out a long downturn in air travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a brutal summer for U.S. airlines. Read More.
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Penn Real Estate Strikes Lender Deal To Avoid Bankruptcy
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Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust , or PREIT, has managed to stave off filing for bankruptcy protection after a majority of its lenders agreed to an out-of-court financial restructuring deal. Read More.
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Pandemic Response Drives Record Global Public Debt, IMF Says
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Spending by the world’s governments to fight the coronavirus and the global economic downturn will propel public debt to a record level, the International Monetary Fund said, adding that more will be needed to assure a full recovery. Read More.
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“If they had that much money to reward their hedge fund managers, how on earth could they come to us and ask us to bail them out?”
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— Ohio state Rep. Laura Lanese, on the subsidies granted to nuclear plants owned by former FirstEnergy unit Energy Harbor
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A sevenfold surge in distressed media debt since March, led by Diamond Sports Group LLC, highlights elevated default risk for a sector still reeling from the pandemic. Distressed bonds and loans from media companies jumped almost 20% in the latest week to about $13.6 billion as of Oct. 9. (Bloomberg)
A group of 25 state attorneys general oppose a settlement of U.S. opioid probes being negotiated with Purdue Pharma LP and members of the wealthy Sackler family who own it, arguing the deal would improperly entangle state and local officials with future sales of the company’s addictive pain drug OxyContin. (Reuters)
The future is looking slightly less bleak for Dave & Buster’s as the food-and-games chain has reopened more than 70% of its stores and reported some same-store sales improvement in September. Same-store sales declined 62% in September, up from the chain’s 87% decline during the second quarter and 75% fall in August. (Restaurant Business)
Amid disputes over the role of bankruptcy courts and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in natural gas transportation contracts between distressed producers and pipelines, the commission is eager for a nationwide ruling to put to rest the uncertainty. (S&P Global Platts)
As oil bankruptcies surge, vulture investors are starting their long feast. (Forbes)
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