Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, September 18. In today's briefing, a federal appeals court put defunct trucking business Yellow on the hook for billions of dollars to pension funds, ruling against its attempts to lower its pension bill based on a federal pandemic relief package.

Bankrupt trucker Yellow loses appeal of multibillion-dollar pension bill. Bankrupt trucking company Yellow is on the hook for some $6.5 billion in pension withdrawal liabilities, according to an appeals court ruling.

The Tuesday ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will potentially dilute the recoveries of other unsecured creditors and prevent any surplus value from flowing to equity holders.

• During the Covid-19 pandemic, Congress granted billions of dollars to struggling pension funds through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Yellow argued that its withdrawal liabilities were inflated as a result because the pension funds had received a combined $41.1 billion in federal aid during the pandemic.

Fed lowers rates by quarter-point, signals more cuts are likely. The Federal Reserve approved a quarter-point interest rate cut Wednesday, the first in nine months, with officials judging that recent labor-market softness outweighed setbacks on inflation.

Recent declines in the growth rate for both the number of people looking for jobs and those gaining employment have “certainly gotten everyone’s attention,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference.

• Powell’s Last Stand: Balancing a Tricky Economy and Intense Political Pressure

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