Canada

It’s fish-in-a-barrel shooting season over at Nortel Networks Corp., with claims traders peppering ex-employees with offers to pay 70 cents, 80 cents or more for their bankruptcy claims, The Wall Street Journal reported on a Daily Bankruptcy Review story. That’s not to imply the liquidated telecommunications company’s discarded workers are easy targets. Nortel, generally speaking, hired bright people.

Massive mortgage debt is top of mind for Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, but in his quest to curtail Canadians’ borrowing, he might want to start thinking about the vehicles sitting in their driveways and garages, too, The Globe and Mail reported. The use of long-term loans to purchase new vehicles is skyrocketing, as car buyers look for ways to cut or hold steady a key component of a family’s spending – the monthly car payment.

Sino-Forest Corp said on Tuesday it terminated a proposed asset sale, in favor of a plan that will result in the company's creditors acquiring all of its forestry assets, Reuters reported. The Chinese forestry company's shares plummeted in June 2011 after a short-seller accused it of exaggerating the size of its forestry assets. The company's stock has since been de-listed by the Toronto Stock Exchange and one of Canada's main securities regulators - the Ontario Securities Commission, recently charged the company and some of its former executives with fraud.

Aveos's airframe division will be broken up and sold to six different buyers for C$10.8 million ($10.53 million) after a court-appointed monitor was unable to find a purchaser willing to buy the unit of the bankrupt aircraft maintenance company as a going concern, Reuters reported. Aveos Fleet Performance Inc, once Air Canada's maintenance division, halted operations in March and laid off roughly 2,600 workers, most of whom were employed at maintenance centers in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Aveos is seeking to sell its engine, component and airframe segments independently.

Struggling to figure out how to sell DVDs and CDs in a download-driven world, Toronto-based movie and music seller Cinram International Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection while its executives move to sell its operations, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported. The company and several affiliates that it controls filed for Chapter 15 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., to block the consequences that it would face when its agreement with its biggest lenders expires on June 30.

Acknowledging his concern that Canada’s housing market is overheating, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is clamping down with four changes to mortgage insurance rules, The Globe and Mail reported. At a news conference in Ottawa, Mr. Flaherty confirmed that Ottawa will reduce the maximum amortization period to 25 years from 30 years. Secondly, the maximum amount of equity homeowners can take out of their homes in a refinancing is being reduced to 80 per cent from 85 per cent.

Catalyst Paper has announced that it is getting another chance to settle with creditors, Canada.com reported on a story from The Citizen. The company, whose holdings include the Crofton mill, has received approval from the court for additional meetings of its secured and unsecured creditors to consider a further amended plan of arrangement under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. These meetings are scheduled for June 25.

Helicopter equipment and repair company Northstar Aerospace Inc. is filing for creditor protection in both Canada and the United States while it arranges the sale of its business for more than US$70 million, the Winnipeg Free Press reported. The troubled Chicago-area concern said Thursday that its U.S. subsidiaries, Northstar Aerospace (USA) Inc., Northstar Aerospace (Chicago) Inc., Derlan USA Inc. and D-Velco Manufacturing of Arizona Inc. have filed Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Meanwhile, Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc.

Air Canada and Aveos have reached an agreement that will help facilitate a sale of some assets of the bankrupt aircraft maintenance firm, and the airline promised to offer some service contracts to a buyer of the Aveos assets, Reuters reported. Aveos Fleet Performance Inc, once the airline's maintenance division, halted operations in March and laid off roughly 2,600 workers, most of whom were employed at maintenance centers in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The monitor's report said Air Canada has agreed to waive any rent on facilities leased by Aveos until Sept. 30.

Lawyers who advise companies on insolvency proceedings, lenders for emergency financing for companies seeking court protection while they are restructuring and pension matters are closely watching the outcome of Supreme Court of Canada’s hearing today of an appeal in what has become known as the Indalex case, The Gazette Moves Deals And Takes blog reported.