Good day and welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, April 3. In today's briefing, Venezuela bondholders may recover funds through the $3.7 billion auction of Citgo, led by Red Tree Investments, allowing them to swap defaulted debt for new securities. A small shareholder is launching a proxy fight at WeightWatchers’ parent company, seeking board seats and major cost cuts as the company pivots to weight-loss drugs in the midst of a steep stock decline, sources said.

A group of Venezuela bondholders have found a path to be repaid through the auction of the country’s U.S.-based oil refiner, Citgo Petroleum, and potentially avoid the risk of a separate adverse court ruling.

The leading bid for Citgo’s U.S. holding company would give holders of $1.7 billion in bonds issued by its ultimate parent company, state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA, the ability to swap out their defaulted debt for new bonds and convertible notes backed by Citgo’s assets.

Red Tree Investments, an affiliate of hedge-fund manager Contrarian Capital, was chosen as the lead bidder for Citgo last month with an offer valued at $3.7 billion. One of the largest oil refineries in the U.S., Citgo is being sold to cover debts owed by the bankrupt Venezuelan government.

A small shareholder is launching a proxy fight at WeightWatchers’ parent company, seeking board seats and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost cuts, according to people familiar with the matter.

Premca Capital, an investment fund, has nominated three directors for election to WW International’s board, according to the people familiar with the matter.

WW International, formerly known as Weight Watchers International, has navigated a rough period as it attempts to shift more of its business to focus on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

The company has a market capitalization of about $40 million, following a sharp decline in its shares in recent years. Its stock is down nearly 70% in the last year.

Macy’s hired a new CFO and chief operating officer from fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings as the department store giant continues to navigate a turnaround.

Thomas Edwards will take the helm at Macy’s on June 22, the company said Tuesday. He has held the same two roles at Capri—which owns Michael Kors and Versace—for the past eight years. He previously held senior leadership positions at Brinker International, which owns the restaurant chain Chili’s Grill & Bar, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

Federal prosecutors and securities regulators announced fraud charges Tuesday against the father-son team behind a massive Mesa, Ariz., youth sports park.

The park filed for bankruptcy in 2023, 15 months after opening and just a few years after selling $280 million in municipal bonds to prominent firms such as Vanguard.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan filed criminal charges against Randy Miller, a Mesa-area businessman who had previously dabbled in running a pool-maintenance business, and his son Chad, with lying to investors. Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials said the Millers lied about the number and size of events planned for the park, forging documents on behalf of athletic groups, including one that promotes sports for disabled athletes.

The two were arrested Tuesday and are scheduled to appear Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Arizona, according to a Justice Department statement. The Securities and Exchange Commission also alleged that the Millers and a third park executive, Jeffrey De Laveaga, broke anti-fraud laws. —Heather Gillers

True Religion’s distinctive, $400 jeans were everywhere in 2005: in paparazzi shots of early reality stars Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson, lyrics of “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas, the windows of a new flagship store in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and billboard and magazine campaigns featuring blonde, tanned and toned models standing in wild prairies.

Twenty years and two bankruptcies later, True Religion and its ads look very different.

The U.S. is moving to blow up the global trading order it built, ushering in an uncertain new era.

President Trump’s highly anticipated announcement Wednesday represents a high-stakes gamble to transform a global economic relationship that Trump for decades has said ripped off the U.S.—even as the American economy had emerged from the pandemic as the envy of its rich-world peers.

The president’s moves raise the specter of a stagflationary shock that increases prices while putting more economies, including the U.S., at risk of recession.

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