Britain ushered in a new era of banking industry oversight on Monday when MPs gave their final approval to reforms aimed at tackling the structural and cultural failings which led to the near-collapse of the country's financial sector, Reuters reported. The reforms are the result of a lengthy legislative process started after the 2007/8 financial crisis and a series of mis-selling and rate-fixing scandals which shone a light on illegal and unethical behaviour at some of Britain's banks.

Hidden behind the tug of war over whether Ukraine will cast its lot with Europe or Russia is the prospect of bankruptcy. Someone will need to chip in at least $10 billion in the coming months, if Ukraine wants to keep its economy afloat, the Associated Press reported. With talks on resuming credit from the International Monetary Fund stalled, President Viktor Yanukovych heads to Moscow on Tuesday to see what Russia might offer in exchange for freezing a strategic trade deal with the European Union.

Ailing Spanish fishing firm Pescanova is considering a non-binding takeover offer from a consortium which includes U.S. private equity firm KKR and shareholder Damm, a domestic brewer, Reuters reported. Pescanova filed for insolvency earlier this year after its auditors said managers had attempted to hide debt. The drawn-out insolvency process could end in a liquidation or a plan to re-float the company.

Fears are growing that the eurozone’s proposed new banking regime will be too bureaucratic for the task of handling a sudden collapse of a cross-border institution. The latest proposals could see up to 126 people being consulted on how to wind up a bank, even though agreement might need to be reached over the course of a weekend while financial markets are closed. Some senior officials are warning the proposals are too cumbersome.

German solar company S.A.G. Solarstrom AG has filed for insolvency, making it the latest in a string of photovoltaic companies to buckle under intense international competition, The Wall Street Journal reported. Delayed cash inflows left the company in a liquidity squeeze, S.A.G. Solarstrom said Friday, and talks with banks, financial services providers and other creditors have been unable to secure the liquidity needed to guarantee the timely payment of liabilities. "Altogether, a sum of over €20 million ($27.5 million) is lacking.

Ireland's three-year bailout ordeal ended this weekend, a victory in its battle against bankruptcy. But while the government is ready to finance itself without aid, the Irish can't yet escape what has become Europe's longest-running austerity program, the Associated Press reported. The Irish faced ruin in 2010, when the runaway cost of a bank-bailout program begun two years earlier destroyed the country's ability to borrow at affordable rates. To the rescue came fellow European nations and the International Monetary Fund with a three-year loan package worth 67.5 billion euros ($93 billion).

SAG Solarstrom AG said that it would file for insolvency, becoming the latest casualty of a solar industry crisis that has claimed many of its peers over the last two years, Reuters reported today. The small German company, which builds and operates solar power plants, said today that talks with banks and creditors over refinancing the business had broken down. As a result it would make no interest payment on Dec. 16 for its 2010/2015 bond.

The euro-zone jobs market stabilized in the six months to September, according to employment figures released today, bringing an end to a long decline in the number of people at work in the 17 countries that use the euro, the Wall Street Journal reported today. With economic growth expected to remain weak, it will take some time before employment levels rise significantly in the currency area. But signs that the jobs market has at least stabilized are a positive development for the euro zone's recovery prospects.

Ailing Spanish fishing firm Pescanova is considering a non-binding takeover offer from a consortium which includes U.S. private equity firm KKR and shareholder Damm, a domestic brewer, Reuters reported today. Pescanova filed for insolvency earlier this year after its auditors said managers had attempted to hide debt. The drawn-out insolvency process could end in a liquidation or a plan to re-float the company.

Investors interested in buying Romanian state-owned, indebted chemical plant Oltchim have until Jan. 31 to file binding offers, a consortium of court-appointed managers for the firm said yesterday, Reuters reported. Oltchim was forced to file for insolvency at the start of this year. Court-appointed managers then restructured the firm and now aim to pick a winning bid for the remaining viable parts of Oltchim on Feb. 3, they said in a statement.