Canada

Canadians are being bombarded with mixed messages on how much debt they should take on, The Wall Street Journal Canada Real Time blog reported. Stimulated by rock-bottom interest rates in place since the financial crisis, Canadians have strapped on a lot of debt in the last few years, and that’s been a big concern for policy makers. Household borrowing was at record highs in the fourth quarter, with the oft-quoted debt-to-disposable-income ratio hitting a record 164.2% in that period.

Boutique Jacob, a Canadian women's fashion retailer that filed for creditor protection in 2010, is liquidating its inventory and closing its stores after failing to find new financing or return to profitability, the company said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Jacob, whose stylish, business-casual fashion catered to young professional women, said it was hurt by a challenging economy in recent years combined with an influx of international brands into Canada. Canadian retailers have come under increasing pressure from U.S.

Exports of liquefied natural gas could start as soon as late 2016 if a consortium led by AltaGas Ltd. succeeds in buying the insolvent Douglas Channel LNG project through a court supervised process, investors heard Thursday, the Calgary Herald reported. David Cornhill, chairman and chief executive of the Calgary-based gas and power company, said at its annual general meeting that term sheets to be presented to creditors could be finalized by next Monday.

Former employees of Nortel Networks in Canada are looking to reclaim their share in the allocation of the company’s global estate, but only on a fair and equitable basis, Benefits Canada reported. Nortel Retirees and Former Employees Protection Canada says the heart of the dispute over the company’s estate is with its current bondholders. The group claims that bondholders are trying to make the U.S. estate solvent, which would force the company to pay interest on the bonds since filing for creditor protection as well as leave less money to go to Canadian creditors.

U.S. and Canadian customers of failed Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox have agreed to settle their proposed class action lawsuits that alleged the company defrauded them of hundreds of millions of dollars, Reuters reported. The class action plaintiffs agreed to support a plan by Sunlot Holdings to buy the shuttered exchange and accept their share of bitcoins still held by Mt. Gox, according to a statement and court filings. Mt.

If Telus Corp hopes to press its advantage in an upcoming auction of wireless airwaves, the Canadian telecom may need to abandon its plan to snatch a floundering rival out of creditor protection and back away from a nasty fight with the government. Canada's Conservative government has aggressively opposed the carrier's expansion plans, which Ottawa sees as a challenge to its policy of encouraging more competition in an industry dominated for years by Telus and its two main rivals, BCE Inc and Rogers Communications Inc.

Canadian Industry Minister James Moore said on Thursday he plans to announce a decision soon on whether or not to approve Telus Corp's C$350 million ($317.42 million) bid for Mobilicity, Reuters reported. The federal government has twice rejected previous Telus bids for the struggling wireless upstart on the grounds that a purchase would further concentrate ownership of wireless spectrum, the airwaves telecom companies rely on for booming mobile data use. Moore noted those prior rejections and said Ottawa's spectrum transfer policy had not changed.

Canadian payday loan provider Cash Store Financial Services Inc said on Monday it will seek protection from creditors as it faces liquidity problems resulting from the suspension of its right to offer loans in the province of Ontario, the Financial Post reported on a Reuters story. In February, the Edmonton, Alberta-based company said it was voluntarily delisting its shares from the New York Stock Exchange as its share price had plummeted and it could not meet the exchange’s listing requirements.

A Manitoba First Nations business success story is showing signs of financial trouble, as one of its companies, Arctic Beverages Ltd., is seeking creditor protection, CBC News reported. Arctic Beverages, which bottles and distributes PepsiCo. and other products, has taken the first step to avoid bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by CBC News. The Winnipeg-based company filed a notice of intention last month to make a proposal to its creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

An Ontario judge has awarded $85-million in damages to the creditors of long-defunct theatre company Livent Inc., ruling the firm’s auditors at Deloitte & Touche were negligent in their reviews of the company’s 1997 financial statements, The Globe and Mail reported. The critical ruling, released late Friday, marks a rare victory for creditors in a lawsuit against its auditors.