Canada

The debt burden among Canadians has hit a fresh record high as nagging household imbalances begin to feel the pinch of a new problem: Slower income growth, The Globe and Mail reported. Debt imbalances are measured chiefly by the ratio of total household credit-market debt (mortgages, other loans and credit cards) to disposable income, and that ratio hit 163.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, up slightly from the previous record 162.7 per cent in the third quarter, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

Steel pensioners from Hamilton are going to court to save a key protection for retirees whose employers go bankrupt. They're rallying behind a little-known legal principle in Ontario that says amounts owed to a pension plan by a bankrupt employer become claims ranking ahead of secured creditors against some assets. A recent Superior Court decision threatens this so-called deemed trust principle by holding the trust is only created if the employer winds up its pension plans before going bankrupt.

Target Canada suppliers have a long list of questions they want the insolvent retailer to answer — 61 in all. The questions centre around the timing of the insolvency, declared Jan. 15, the Toronto Star reported. Target is in the process of liquidating all 133 stores across Canada. “When did Target Canada and Target Corporation first begin considering closing down its Canadian stores and seeking insolvency protection,” reads one of the questions. Ontario Superior Court justice Geoffrey Morawetz ruled on Feb. 19 that suppliers had until Mar.

Financial institutions are at the epicentre of the financial storm in the Caribbean. Take the case of Sagicor Financial Corp., a leading regional life insurer, based in Barbados. Because the country’s sovereign debt has been downgraded several times, Sagicor’s corporate debt rating has also suffered. In January, the company abruptly announced it was relocating its head office outside of Barbados, shocking the island’s 290,000 citizens. Canadian lenders have it even worse. Our banks are often praised for sidestepping the U.S.

The Canadian subsidiary of embattled for-profit education company Corinthian Colleges Inc. has filed for bankruptcy under Canada’s insolvency law after an Ontario education regulator took action against the company’s 14 Canadian campuses, The Wall Street Journal reported. Everest Colleges Canada Inc. filed for an assignment under the Bankruptcy Insolvency Act on Friday, which is Canada’s bankruptcy law. Duff Phelps Canada Restructuring Inc. will administer the case as trustee, according to an announcement.

Cash-strapped private oilsands producer Laricina Energy Ltd. is shutting down its Germain commercial demonstration project and will halt planning on its joint-venture Saleski project as its fruitless search for investment dollars enters its fourth month, the Calgary Herald reported. “This action reflects the company’s continuing efforts to implement cost controls towards maintaining its financial position to protect the long-term value of its assets in this difficult commodity and capital markets environment,” Laricina said in a news release on its website Monday.

Struggling telecom startup Mobilicity has filed an application to participate in the upcoming federal spectrum auction, but the company’s precarious financial condition could preclude it from facing off with rival Wind Mobile Corp. for the coveted licences, the Financial Post reported. Mobilicity, which has been operating under court-supervised creditor protection since September 2013, submitted a refundable deposit after scrambling to obtain $65-million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing days before Industry Canada’s Jan.

Target Canada has reached an agreement with its landlords on the sale of leases for the closing of Target retail stores, CBC.ca reported. Documents filed with an Ontario court say both sides have agreed to a court-appointed monitor to supervise the sale, which shifts control away from Target Canada. The retailer has also set May 15 as the deadline for wrapping up the sale of the leases, with an final date set for June 30. If a lease isn't sold by the June deadline, then the rights will be returned to the landlord, according to the documents.

Palliser Oil & Gas is seeking creditor protection under the CCAA act, it said yesterday, as the junior oil and gas company failed to repay its oustanding debts. The company, in a statement released after market close Monday, said its board has determined that it is in the best interests of shareholders to file for creditor protection on February 12 under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCCAA). The decision comes after Palliser received a notice from lender National Bank of Canada that the company's $40 million in debt must be repaid in full by February 6.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc will scoop up bankrupt cancer vaccine maker Dendreon Corp, after no additional qualified bids came forward by Tuesday's deadline, Valeant said. A potential buyer dropped from the bidding process, three sources close to the sale told Reuters earlier. Valeant, of Laval, Quebec, will get Seattle-based Dendreon's Provenge cancer treatment and other assets for $400 million in cash. Dendreon and Valeant will seek court approval of the sale on Feb. 20, Valeant said. It expects to close the deal by the end of this month.