💥We're Halfway There💥
Cineworld Group Plc, Nielsen & Bainbridge, iMedia Brands, Clear Channel Outdoor + More
July 4 is in sight. 1H’23 is in the rearview. What a week we just had. What a year we’re having! What a year ‘20 and ‘21-vintage SPACs are having 😂! We really want to get out of dodge and find some good air quality and a bucket of Coronas that’ll make Vin Diesel proud so here’s us bringing back an old tradition: PETITION stream of consciousness.
Apparently any thought of a recession is now behind us, yippee!, as GDP has been revised up by some…
…even though consumer spending is coming down1 (and household excess savings may, according to the Fed, be depleted),2 interest rates aren’t coming down anytime soon, ratings downgrades and default rates are up, credit spreads have widened and bankruptcy activity is rising but 🤷♀️ credit markets, let’s look at the equity markets and there it’s apparently time to f*cking let it rip with some serious risk-on in this unprecedented bear market rally…
…with the VIX barely in double digits, the S&P 500 Index ⬆️ 2.4% (and over 20% from the October bottom), the Nasdaq ⬆️ 2.4%, BTC back over $30k, ETH up 2% approaching $2k, and FTX talking about launching 2.0 because, well, f*ck it 🤷♀️, why not, apparently crypto isn’t a complete failure after all despite what the US Securities and Exchange Commission might say, despite the fact that yet another player — this time, a crypto custodian called Prime Trust — collapsed (into receivership owing customers ~$155mm … great name for a fraud, btw!), despite the fact that BlockFi may very well convert to chapter 7 if the UCC has its way, and despite the fact that Genesis Global Holdco LLC is such a sh*t show that it had to kick its disclosure statement hearing nearly a month. Speaking of the regulators, Bittrex is throwing off big 🖕energy to the government as is Judge Glenn in the Silicon Valley Bank case where, earlier this week, he approved the UCC’s discovery demand to depose the Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco and FDIC employees (likewise, Goldman Sachs may be in the crosshairs). Speaking of depositions, someone ought to get questioned about how Yellow (f/k/a YRC Worldwide) could possibly be in trouble even after getting shown some bailout love from the federal government in the form of a controversial sweetheart $700mm pandemic-era loan.
Not getting love? Retailers. David’s Bridal’s liquidation must be going swell. What is the liquidation value of fugly wedding dresses anyway? Can’t imagine it’s much which likely has senior lenders looking left, looking right, and wondering how they best play out an option here. Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond sold its IP and e-commerce assets to Overstock.com Inc. ($OSTK) — which popped 34.9%…
…because ‘20 vibes 🚀 — for a whopping $21.5mm cash (🤮). OSTK then indicated that it intends to rebrand entirely to BBBY which, yeah sure, that worked out well the first time why not go back to that well, meanwhile Buy Buy Baby, which was once rumored to fetch as much as $1b …