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Fed Holds Rates Steady; Antares Reinsurance Venture; Mall Owner Bounces Back
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Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, July 31. In today's briefing, a rundown on the Federal Reserve's rate decision and deals involving at private-credit firm Antares Capital and formerly-bankrupt CBL Properties.
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Fed holds rates steady, but two officials back a cut. The Federal Reserve held rates steady for a fifth straight meeting Wednesday but faced rare dissents from two officials seeking an immediate cut.
The decision followed a period of intense political pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell by the White House to lower interest rates. Officials maintained their benchmark policy rate in a range between 4.25% and 4.5% as they weighed how importers, retailers and consumers will split the costs of higher duties on imports.
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Al Drago/Bloomberg News
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Powell gambles the economy will reveal itself soon. Fed officials are betting they can afford to wait at least two months for clarity on whether tariffs will slow economic activity, fuel inflation, or pass by with little effect. That patience comes with risks—on both sides.
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Antares and Ascot Group form new $500 million reinsurance company. Chicago-based Antares will serve as the exclusive private-credit asset manager for Wayfare and manage a portion of the assets through its direct-lending strategy.
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The private-credit industry has increasingly overlapped with insurance companies as the demand for alternative financing has surged in recent years. Many insurers have invested in credit funds to gain access to higher yields, diversification and long-duration investments that match lengthy liabilities typically associated with life insurance and annuity policies.
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Washington Prime Group
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CBL snaps up new batch of mid-tier sites. Mall owner CBL Properties is buying four middle-market malls, the latest sign that the mall sector’s recovery is extending beyond luxury and high-end properties.
The deal marks a rare portfolio transaction for the enclosed-mall industry, which has seen plummeting values and sluggish sales in recent years despite the broader retail sector’s resurgence. Like many mall owners, CBL has been buffeted by retailer bankruptcies, department-store closures, changing shopping patterns and the rise of e-commerce.
The company sold off 20 malls in the four years leading up to the pandemic before slipping into bankruptcy. When it emerged 12 months later, CBL doubled down on its bread-and-butter: mid-tier, enclosed shopping centers.
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Australia's Bowen Coking Coal enters bankruptcy. Bowen Coking Coal said it is entering voluntary administration after failing to secure fresh capital or negotiate alternative commercial arrangements with its biggest creditors.
The Australian miner on Wednesday said the decision comes after the Queensland Revenue Office rejected a short-term deferral of royalties as proposed by the company.
It reflects challenging conditions in the coal industry in Australia's Queensland state because of increased operating costs, low coal prices and the 2022 rise in royalty rates, Bowen Coking Coal said.
The company, which runs the Burton Mine Complex, expects the administration process will give it time to agree on a sale or recapitalization. It has appointed Mark Holland and Shaun Fraser of McGrathNicol Restructuring as voluntary administrators. —Rhiannon Hoyle
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EchoStar told by U.S. to sell spectrum. EchoStar Corp., the broadband company that’s missed debt payments, is being pushed by federal regulators to sell some of its airwaves to address concerns it has failed to put valuable slices of wireless spectrum to use, Bloomberg reported.
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