Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Friday, May 30. In today's briefing, retailers are learning to hold firm on their plans, choosing stability after months of price hikes, spending cuts and layoffs triggered by tariff uncertainty. And Sunnova Energy exited a $3 billion federal loan guarantee program because of declining demand for solar loans.

Retailers decided not to blink this time. After the head-snapping whiplash from this week’s court rulings on President Trump's tariff policies, they aren’t changing their plans.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that the president didn’t have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs. Then a federal appeals court on Thursday decided that Trump could continue collecting tariffs, for now.

For months, businesses across the U.S. that rely on imported goods have been trying to figure out how to navigate the on-again, off-again tariffs imposed by Trump. Companies have been raising prices, cutting back on spending and laying off workers, all in an effort to offset the fluctuating costs of tariffs.

• Earlier: In a ruling heard ’round the world, the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
• The Trump administration asked the U.S. Court of International Trade to pause its ruling that invalidated nearly all of the president's sweeping tariffs, while it pursues an appeal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed its lawsuit against Binance and its billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao, the agency’s latest move to wind down Biden-era enforcement actions against the crypto industry.

In a Thursday court filing, attorneys for the SEC, Binance and Zhao signed on to the agency’s decision to dismiss the 2023 lawsuit. The filing noted that the SEC recently created a “crypto task force” aimed at crafting a new regulatory framework for digital assets, part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to create a friendlier environment for the industry.

“We’re deeply grateful to Chairman Paul Atkins and the Trump administration for recognizing that innovation can’t thrive under regulation by enforcement,” a Binance spokeswoman said in a statement, referring to the SEC’s new leader.

Sunnova Energy International withdrew from a federal loan guarantee program that promised up to $3 billion to back its residential solar installations.

In a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Houston-based solar provider said it would no longer participate in the Department of Energy’s Project Hestia, under which it had drawn just $371.6 million. Sunnova hasn’t tapped the facility since 2024.

The company said declining demand for solar loans in favor of leases and power purchase agreements reduced its need to use the program. Sunnova contacted the DOE earlier this year to terminate its participation, according to a person familiar with the matter. The agency formally “deobligated” the company from the program on May 22.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported the company is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing as it struggles under roughly $8.5 billion in debt and deteriorating liquidity.

Separately, Sunnova disclosed changes to its executive compensation. President and Chief Executive Paul Mathews will receive a retention bonus of $313,721 if he remains with the company through Dec. 31. The board also amended the severance package of interim Chief Financial Officer Robyn Liska, removing a noncompete provision in her prior agreement.

—Alicia McElhaney

The Supreme Court paused a judgment that would scale back protections for Highland Capital Management in its bankruptcy restructuring plan against its former chief executive's ability to sue.

Highland is seeking to preserve aspects of its bankruptcy plan impeding its co-founder and former CEO James Dondero's ability to file lawsuits against those running his former business. On Thursday, Justice Samuel Alito issued a stay that halts a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stripping those protections from Highland's plan.

Dallas-based Highland filed for chapter 11 in 2019 following lawsuits by investors and former employees alleging that the firm delayed its high-yield fund’s liquidation and wrongfully paid itself $30 million. As part of the bankruptcy plan, Dondero was ousted from the business and an independent board took over. Dondero has since opposed the company’s restructuring plan through his investment firm, NexPoint Advisors.

Highland asked the lower courts to provide its board directors, officers and advisers with protection against liability, citing concerns about Dondero’s previous litigation against the company. To file a new lawsuit, Dondero would need to first seek leave from the bankruptcy court and show his claims were colorable. Although a bankruptcy court in Dallas agreed to provide those protections, the Fifth Circuit said it didn't have the power to do so.

Highland said in court filings to Justice Alito that the appeals court's ruling could stop bankruptcy judges in the future from acting as a “gatekeeper to screen out lawsuits that are not even colorable.” A spokesperson for Dondero declined to comment on Thursday.

—Alicia McElhaney

• Big private-equity firms increasingly are taking two different approaches as they strive to expand, with most following an “asset light” strategy.
• U.S. venture capitalists are racing to tap into China’s growing biotechnology prowess.
• Some of the U.S. banks that cut ties with a leading industry climate group have shifted how they talk about their climate efforts.
• Nespresso, purveyor of sophistication, wants to win over Gen Z coffee drinkers. It’s having to get more playful with its marketing to do so.

• Saks Global Enterprises said it has secured $350 million of financing commitments from SLR Credit Solutions. (Bloomberg)

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