Japan's transport minister said Friday that he hasn't heard from AMR Corp.'s American Airlines on the airline's intention to provide financial support to struggling carrier Japan Airlines Corp., Dow Jones reported. "No, we haven't (heard from American Airlines) ... There is no change in our policy to support JAL while (the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp.) is implementing assessment of JAL's assets," Seiji Maehara, Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, said at a regular press conference. JAL has been talking to both American and Delta Air Lines Inc.

Iain Pero, the brother of Mike Pero Mortgages founder Mike, has confirmed he is the new owner of flight simulator business Flight Experience, The New Zealand Herald reported. Pero and one of Flight Experience's founders, Russell Hubber, have joined forces to buy the business out of receivership. However, the original shareholders, including Mike Pero, will be left out of pocket. The receivers of Flight Experience Group say there will still be a "significant shortfall" in funds after the sale. The company was put into receivership this month by ASB Bank, which is owed $4 million.

Finance company Boston Finance, one of the many currently in a moratorium, has been finally put into receivership, The New Zealand Herald reported. Grant Graham and Brendon Gibson of KordaMentha have been appointed receivers, formally ending its moratorium arrangement which has been in place since March last year. Today's move was widely expected.

Shares in Japan Airlines slid to a record low after the transport minister rattled investors by saying bankruptcy was still a possibility, even as U.S. carriers lined up with offers of financial support, Reuters reported. Delta Air Lines said it and partners in the SkyTeam alliance were ready to offer $1 billion, including a $500 million equity investment, in return for JAL defecting from the Oneworld alliance and its partnership with American Airlines. The offer follows news last week that private equity firm TPG was considering partnering with American Airlines on an investment in JAL.

A growing number of global leaders are urging China to look to its long-term interests and allow its tightly controlled currency to rise. But they are encountering reluctance from a government still very much worried about the economy in the short term, The Wall Street Journal reported. stronger yuan, which would make Chinese exports less competitive, is particularly unappealing for China in a year when exports are down about 20% and many manufacturers have closed.

A Saad Group subsidiary says it is unable to make payments on a US$650 million (Dh2.38 billion) Islamic bond maturing in 2012, The National reported. Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services, part of the struggling family-owned conglomerate based in Saudi Arabia, said yesterday it was “impossible for the issuer to perform its payment obligations under the sukuk”. It made the disclosure in a statement to the Bahrain Stock Exchange, where the Golden Belt 1 sukuk is listed.

Kuwait's Investment Dar, the Islamic financial firm that owns half of British luxury carmaker Aston Martin, plans to present a proposed debt restructuring plan to creditors this month, the company said Sunday. The meetings organized by Dar and the nine-member Coordinating Committee representing creditors will take place in Kuwait and Dubai on November 24 and November 25 respectively, the company said in a statement. The creditors will have a period of time to review and approve the plan after the meetings, Dar said.

The chief executive of US automaker General Motors has apologised and expressed "deep regret" for the company's handling of a sale of its subsidiary Opel to Canadian manufacturer Magna and Russian investment bank Sberbank, a deal that was aborted last week, the Press Trust of India reported. GM CEO Fritz Henderson expressed his "deep regret" for shocking the nation and provoking outrage among government leaders, trade unions and Opel workers by making an unexpected announcement last week to cancel the deal and instead to keep Germany's second largest car manufacturer under its fold.

A government task force working on a revival plan for Japan Airlines Corp is considering using a debt restructuring mediation scheme to help ease the airline's financing woes, two sources familiar with the matter said, Forbes reported. The task force is considering a scheme recently introduced in Japan called 'Alternative Dispute Resolution' under which a third party would mediate between JAL and its creditors, allowing for the temporary suspension of loan payments.

Creditors of companies that go bust in the Emirates are likely to be paid less than in most other Arab countries, creating a deterrent to investment, says a report from the World Bank, The National reported. Policymakers in the country have been urged to focus their efforts on reforming the UAE’s insolvency framework to lay the foundations for a better business environment. Creditors get an average of 10.2 cents (37 fils) in the dollar if a company in the UAE files for bankruptcy, data from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation shows.