UK Coal rejected a bid to buy its surface mines and run its deep mines under contract in favour of a restructuring that could cost British companies millions in pension payments, documents show, the Financial Times. The revelation is contained in the report to creditors compiled by PwC, which handled the administration and liquidation of Britain’s largest coal producer, hiving most of its assets into linked businesses. Hargreaves Services, the listed coal miner and importer, is believed to have made the bid on June 5, a month before UK Coal entered administration on July 9.

Irish government debt is still vulnerable to a Greek-style restructuring, Capital Economics said in a note, the Irish Times reported. The country still hasn’t fully regained the competitiveness lost inside the euro region and remains vulnerable to swings in the global economy, Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, said. Debt levels, the housing market and a fragile banking sector may also hamper economic growth, Loynes said.

Insolvent home improvement store chain Praktiker has secured financing to pay suppliers and keep shelves stocked as it seeks an investor, Reuters reported. Praktiker filed for insolvency last month after talks with creditors failed, triggering fears of heavy job losses. Administrators have kept the business running while reviewing options for the chain, a household name in Germany. "We reached an agreement on financing for the supply of goods following intensive negotiations with credit insurers, banks and suppliers," insolvency administrator Christopher Seagon said in a statement on Tuesday.

Is Spain really on the brink of a remarkable recovery? It's a question with a significance that goes well beyond the troubled Southern European country, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Asia's economic slowdown is threatening to bring two of Europe's highest-flying banks back down to earth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Standard Chartered PLC Tuesday said net profit fell 24% in the first half of the year, as weakening growth in Asian markets and a $1 billion write-down at its South Korean business put a brake on earnings. The announcement came one day after HSBC Holdings PLC's said underlying profit before tax stagnated at its Asia-Pacific unit, which excludes Hong Kong, and warned it was bracing for slower growth in China.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said it could take a hit of up to $1.6 billion (1 billion pounds) in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations it mis-sold mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, Reuters reported. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has alleged 18 banks misrepresented the quality of the collateral backing securities between 2005 and 2008. Swiss bank UBS paid $885 million in a settlement with the FHFA last month and Citigroup and General Electric have settled for undisclosed sums.

HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, today vowed to get round new rules capping bankers’ bonuses which it said would have a “highly damaging” impact on many of its operations around the globe, the Evening Standard reported. From the start of next year, European Union rules within the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) IV will limit bonuses paid to all bankers employed by EU-based institutions to 100% of their base salary, or 200% if shareholders approve.

Wide disparities in the way European banks calculate risk for their sovereign and top-quality corporate debt holdings stem mostly from variations in regulation and differences in collateral and maturity, rather than any consistent effort to play down potential losses on their balance sheets, the pan-EU banking supervisor has found, the Financial Times reported.

Following its bankruptcy filing a few weeks ago, PV specialist Gehrlicher Solar AG could have a new investor, RenewableEnergyFocus.com reported. This is according to preliminary administrator Oliver Schartl of the Munich law firm Müller-Heydenreich Beutler & Kollegen. “I see very good prospects of being soon able to sell Gehrlicher Solar America Corporation to an investor,” said Schartl. Discuussions of the search for an investor supported by a German and US M&A consultancy firm are already at an advanced stage, he reports.

Bank of Ireland (BOI) is working on a strategy to avoid accruing an additional €445 million “step-up” payment to the Government, if it fails to pay back the State’s €1.78 billion holding of high-interest preference shares by next spring, the Irish Times reported. The issue is seen as a top priority within the bank, which yesterday reported its results for the first half of the year.