On May 6, top officials of the European Central Bank were sitting down to dinner with their spouses in the elegant Emperor's Room of the Palacio da Bacalhoa, a 15th-century estate and winery south of the Portuguese capital, when stocks in New York began a terrifying slide., The Wall Street Journal reported in an analysis. The bankers' BlackBerrys lit up with frantic notes. The euro was swooning.

Since 2008 there has been one word which has been repeated over and over in each language across the world: “financial crisis”. What happened in the last two years? It seems that nobody knows: it has been a contemporary hurricane. It made no difference if we talked about the well-respected European-automotive company, a billion-euro London-based financial institution or even sovereign states; they all needed help. Just as in the 1850s when the railway industry in Arkansas received state aid, severalMember States had to go into rescue business again.

The United Kingdom’s Commercial Secretary to the Treasury launched a consultation on a new special-resolution regime, Special administration regime for investment firms, to strengthen the government’s ability to handle future insolvencies of failing investment banks to minimize cost and disruption of the overall national financial system. The proposed regime acknowledges the importance of investment firms in providing market liquidity, and the substantial strain on financial stability following a failure of an investment firm, such as occurred when Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.

The Government is conducting a detailed review of resolution arrangements for failing investment banks. As part of this review the Government published a consultation paper on a new special administration regime for investment firms. The consultation is aimed at the financial services, legal advisors,insolvency practitioners, investment firms. The special administration regime is based on the proposals previously set out in the December 2009 consultation paper Establishing resolution arrangements for investment banks and the responses to that paper.

On July 24, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Sun Capital Partners III LP v. New England Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund, held that a private equity fund was a “trade or business” under the controlled group rules of ERISA, and, as a result, could be held jointly and severally liable for the pension obligations of a bankrupt portfolio company.

Prof. Bob Wessels reviews a recent judgment and asks, does this spark a total legal u-turn in England?

The Insolvency Service recently opened a consultation (the "Consultation") on its proposals for a restructuring moratorium. Under the proposals, eligible companies satisfying certain qualifying conditions would be able to apply to court for a moratorium to prevent creditor action (a "Moratorium").

Guidance published by HMRC in its Corporate Finance Manual has recently been updated to reflect a change in practice regarding the corporation tax treatment of debt for equity swaps. Debt for equity swaps are commonly used in corporate restructuring, particularly when a company is in financial difficulty.

The International Monetary Fund hasn't ruled out putting together more aid for Greece to help the country stave off an unlikely default, if ever needed, a person familiar with the matter said, The Wall Street Journal reported. In May, the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank gave Greece access to a €110 billion ($143 billion) rescue package to avoid bankruptcy in exchange for strict austerity measures. "Despite the exceptional access and support Greece has been given so far, that does not of itself preclude a future follow-up or additional arrangement with the IMF afte

Transparency International UK, in association with FTI Consulting and Halcrow, has published comprehensive Guidance on Adequate Procedures under the UK Bribery Act 2010. The guide is available to download free of charge. www.transparency.org.uk/working-with-companies/adequate-procedures?format=pdf