China called for the creation of a new currency to eventually replace the dollar as the world's standard, proposing a sweeping overhaul of global finance that reflects developing nations' growing unhappiness with the U.S. role in the world economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. The unusual proposal, made by central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan in an essay released Monday in Beijing, is part of China's increasingly assertive approach to shaping the global response to the financial crisis. Mr.

The spreading of company tax debt is "a time bomb waiting to go off", according to Hall Chadwick accountants and business advisers partner Richard Albarran. An expert in insolvency and business recovery, Albarran said more companies than ever before are resorting to (voluntary) administration over taxes, Money Management reported.

A tiny default by a Russian aircraft-leasing company is sending ripples through the much larger market for the country's debt, The Wall Street Journal reported. The default by Finance Leasing Co. on $250 million of bonds is the first by a Russian state-owned company on foreign debt since the country's 1998 financial meltdown. That is rattling foreign investors, who worry that Russia could allow many more companies to renege on billions of dollars of debt while it grapples with an economic and financial crisis.

UBS, the world's biggest wealth manager, has axed a team of six private bankers in Singapore, who were managing wealth for Turkish clients, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Monday. UBS is struggling after losing billions in the risky U.S. housing market, which forced it to obtain financial aid from the Swiss government. The Singapore team was managing clients' assets worth between $200 million to $300 million and was hired from Swiss rival Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) two years ago, a source briefed on the situation said.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank by assets, said on Monday it plans to close about 50 branches and cut 1,000 jobs over the next three years as part of its ongoing effort to cut costs, The Wall Street Journal reported. The plan for its core banking unit Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, includes shutting down at least 200 automatic teller machines. Firing people in Japan is extremely difficult because of tough labor laws protecting staff and public pressure on companies to preserve social stability.

Sony Corp. said it will impose a salary freeze on its full-time workers in Japan for one year to cut costs as the electronics giant braces for a massive loss amid a deepening global downturn, The Wall Street Journal reported. The salary freeze will be effective from April, and Sony's managers with non-board posts will be also take a 35% to 40% cut in their annual bonuses for the fiscal year starting next month, a Sony spokeswoman said. "Our business environment is severe.

Bankruptcy petitions in Hong Kong rose to a more than five-year high in February as the recession in the city deepened, government data showed Friday. The government said 1,500 bankruptcy petitions from individuals and non-limited firms were filed during the month, up from 1,266 in January, Dow Jones Newswires reported. February's figure was the highest since October 2003, when 1,648 bankruptcy petitions were filed as Hong Kong was recovering from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome crisis. The data come amid signs of further deterioration in local economic conditions.

Six aviation companies, including General Electric Co's aviation subsidiary, have appealed to a Hubei court to declare a Chinese airline carrier bankrupt, Shanghai Daily reported. East Star Airlines, based in the capital Wuhan City of Hubei Province, owes 500 million yuan ($73.1 million) to other companies, including the six complainants, the West China City Daily reported today. East Star was told to suspend its services last Sunday because of unpaid loans.

At least 17 of the 20 major nations that vowed at a November summit to avoid protectionist steps that could spark a global trade war have violated that promise, with countries from Russia to the United States to China enacting measures aimed at limiting the flow of imported goods, according to a World Bank report unveiled yesterday. The report underscores a "worrying" trend toward protectionism as countries rush to shield their ailing domestic industries during the global economic crisis, The Washington Post reported.

Leather supplier CV Cisarua has revoked its bankruptcy litigation against local manufacturer of Adidas shoes PT Prima Inreksa Industries (PII) after reaching an amicable settlement on the latter’s outstanding debt, The Jakarta Post reported. In its press statement Tuesday, the lawyer for Cisarua, Suyud Margono, said PII had paid its US$163,046 debt to Cisarua after reaching a peaceful settlement as a result of mediation.