Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Monday, January 5. In today's briefing, the bankruptcy world is on watch for Saks Global after its CEO stepped down last week ahead of an expected chapter 11 filing.

Saks CEO steps down ahead of expected bankruptcy filing. Saks Global’s chief executive is stepping down from the helm of the struggling luxury retailer ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing that could come soon.

Marc Metrick, who led Saks Fifth Avenue’s 2024 merger with Neiman Marcus, is stepping down after nearly three decades with the company, Saks said Friday. The planned chapter 11 filing is expected to mark the highest-profile department-store bankruptcy since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Will AI startups be weeded out in 2026? Startups with thin margins and little market edge could meet their demise, investors said. At the same time, investors said 2026 is the year AI platforms and agents transition from being mere shiny dashboards and nice-to-have chatbots to competent autonomous workers managing entire workflows.

Share your tips, suggestions and feedback with the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy team: Alexander Gladstone; Jodi Xu Klein; Akiko Matsuda; Alicia McElhaney; Andrew Scurria; Becky Yerak. 

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