United States

Latam Airlines Group SA can send its $5.4 billion bankruptcy-exit plan to creditors for a vote, a judge said Tuesday, handing the airline a partial victory over debtholders who want to pursue alternatives, including a takeover by rival Azul SA, Bloomberg News reported. The decision means the company can seek final court approval for its reorganization plan in April and possibly exit bankruptcy several months after that, should it get support from securities regulators in Chile, where Latam is based.

Aeromexico on Friday won court approval of its restructuring plan after the airline struck a deal with the remaining holdouts among its creditors, clearing the way for it to emerge from bankruptcy with new controlling shareholders, Reuters reported. "I could not be more pleased to tell you the plan of reorganization is confirmed," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman said soon after the agreement to pay a settlement to the creditors was announced during a court hearing.

Grupo Aeromexico SAB cut a last minute deal with the main group of its unsecured creditors, easing the way for the airline to seek final approval to exit bankruptcy from a judge in New York, Bloomberg News reported. The official committee of unsecured creditors in the company’s Chapter 11 case agreed to join more senior debt holders who back the plan, including Apollo Global Management Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. In return, unsecured creditors will get a note for $40 million, contingent on future performance.

COVID-19 vaccine requirements for foreign truckers at the U.S.-Canada border still could cause supply-chain disruptions if both countries do not decide to allow exemptions, the head of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Late on Wednesday, Canada dropped a vaccine mandate for Canadian truckers returning home from the United States that was supposed to kick in on Saturday, but unvaccinated non-Canadians will still be turned back at the border.

A unit of offshore driller Seadrill Ltd yesterday filed a fast-tracked reorganization plan in Houston bankruptcy court, where it expects to seek approval of the proposal today, Reuters reported. The case comes just a few months after its parent entity emerged from its own bankruptcy proceeding. That reorganization plan is scheduled to go into effect early this year. Seadrill New Finance Ltd’s chapter 11 case is intended to be the “final component” of the entire Seadrill Group’s restructuring efforts, according to a declaration from financial controller Tyson de Souza.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people on December 30 not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of onboard outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant, the Associated Press reported. The CDC said that it has more than 90 cruise ships under investigation or observation as a result of COVID-19 cases. The agency did not disclose the number of infections.

Canada’s national pension fund struck its first partnership to build and rent out single-family homes in the U.S., joining a rush to capitalize on a housing shortage, Bloomberg News reported. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will join with Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, the largest property manager in the U.S., to build and acquire communities of single-family rental properties there, according to a statement Wednesday. CPPIB will own 95% of the $840 million joint venture and Greystar 5%. The surging price of homeownership in the U.S.

President Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. and its allies would meet a military escalation into Ukraine with a series of actions, including strong economic measures, bolstering Ukrainian defenses and fortifying support for Eastern European nations, as allies work together to prevent renewed conflict in Eastern Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported. For more than two hours on Tuesday, the leaders held a secure video call to address what the U.S. has described as large and unusual troop movement near Russia’s border with Ukraine in recent weeks. The U.S.

The European Union has experienced a "breakthrough year" with the United States even if not all trade irritants are gone and now wants to work with its transatlantic ally to start forging trade rules for the future, the EU trade chief said, Reuters reported. A year on from Joe Biden's defeat of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election, the two sides have suspended their disputes over aircraft subsidies and steel and aluminium tariffs and launched an alliance to cooperate on future technologies. "One can say that this year was indeed a breakthrough year for EU-U.S.