The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.

A pair of Ohio House lawmakers want to help people pay off their medical debt.

State Reps. Michele Grim, D-Toledo, and Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, are introducing the Ohio Medical Debt Fairness Act.

The bill would lower the maximum interest rate for medical debt to 3% per year; prohibit hospitals, medical providers, and third-party collectors from reporting medical debt to credit agencies; and ban wage garnishment for medical debt collections.

“Medical debt can happen to anyone,” Grim said Tuesday during a news conference. “No one chooses to get sick or injured. No one plans for a car…

In today’s challenging economic climate, it’s not uncommon to find yourself on the receiving end of letters and calls from debt collectors. After all, with inflation cooling but still impacting household budgets and interest rates remaining elevated, millions of Americans are struggling to keep up with just their regular bills, much less the payments due on credit cards,…

Dwayne Gunness, president of Unifor Local 40 — which represents 40 beauty advisers — confirmed the layoffs, reports Radio-Canada.

And HBC won’t be providing termination pay to workers being laid off, according to one worker.

“I’m having a really hard time accepting the fact that we don’t get severance,” says Hazel Harris, one of the 157 laid-off distribution centre workers, according to the Radio-Canada report. “It’s very heartbreaking what’s going on.”

The employer also laid off nearly 200 corporate employees on April 4.

HBC has confirmed that it will not be providing severance compensation to the workers, according to Radio-Canada.

The furniture and display cases that speckle Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Canada are up for sale.

Advertisements at its downtown Toronto store show the company has begun looking for buyers for its fixtures. A 24-page document that it is offering prospective buyers shows at least $150,000 worth of inventory.

Items include mannequins, tables, clothing racks, full-body mirrors, shelving units and glass display cases. There are also golden vases, velvet armchairs, art, coffee table books and salon and tailoring equipment.

Hudson’s Bay operates three Saks Fifth Avenue and 13 Saks Off Fifth stores in Canada, which are shutting down alongside 80 Bay locations as their parent company remains under creditor protection.

In…

Bhubaneswar: Over 3,000 people staged a protest on Wednesday afternoon at the Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) plant gate in Jharsuguda, voicing their anger and anxiety over the Supreme Court’s May 2 ruling ordering the liquidation of the company.

The apex court, on April 2, rejected JSW Steel’s resolution plan for BPSL under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and instead directed the liquidation of the debt-ridden company. The verdict overturned earlier approvals granted by both the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which had cleared JSW Steel’s acquisition plan.

The protesters comprised BPSL employees, contractors, local vendors, and small traders,…

Bhubaneswar: Over 3,000 people staged a protest on Wednesday afternoon at the Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) plant gate in Jharsuguda, voicing their anger and anxiety over the Supreme Court’s May 2 ruling ordering the liquidation of the company.

The apex court, on April 2, rejected JSW Steel’s resolution plan for BPSL under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and instead directed the liquidation of the debt-ridden company. The verdict overturned earlier approvals granted by both the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which had cleared JSW Steel’s acquisition plan.

The protesters comprised BPSL employees, contractors, local vendors, and small traders,…

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved gaming and media firm Nazara Technologies’ resolution plan to acquire Sachin Tendulkar-backed Smaaash Entertainment, which has been undergoing insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).“We wish to inform you that the resolution plan submitted by the company for acquisition of Smaaash Entertainment Private Limited, a company undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process under the insolvency and bankruptcy code, 2016, has been approved by the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai… subject to a modification of the provisos to the term effective date,” Nazara informed stock exchanges on Wednesday.

In August 2024, Nazara said it received a letter of…

Following insolvencies in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, insolvency proceedings have now also been opened for Gerry Weber in Austria. As announced on Friday by the Alpenländische Kreditorenverband (AKV), corresponding proceedings were initiated at the Commercial Court of Vienna regarding the assets of Gerry Weber Vertriebs GmbH. At the time of the insolvency opening, the Austrian subsidiary employed three members of staff.

The company cited the insolvency of the parent company, Gerry Weber International GmbH, which had filed for insolvency proceedings at the beginning of March, as the reason for the application. As a result of the parent group’s financial difficulties, management decided to discontinue the operative business of…

Credit card interest rates remain high right now, driven up, in part, by the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes that occurred in 2022 and 2023. While the increases were aimed at combating inflation, they also raised the prime rate and, by extension, caused an uptick in the variable rates on credit cards. High delinquency rates have also prompted card issuers to continue charging

On Tuesday (May 6), WeightWatchers announced filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

According to the company’s website, “After careful planning and discussions, we decided to initiate a prepackaged chapter 11 process. Unlike insolvency court processes in other countries, a prepackaged chapter 11 filing in the U.S. does not mean the company is going out of business or liquidating. Instead, it allows for an organized restructuring of a company’s balance sheet. Again, this means we are not going out of business–but conducting business as usual while we undergo this process”

The company will work to eliminate $1.15 billion in debt.

The reorganization will support WeightWatchers’ transformation strategy, focusing on improving digital and…