A Lithuanian court began bankruptcy proceedings against Ukio Bankas AB at the request of the central bank, which shut the Kaunas-based lender in February because of risky loans to related parties, Bloomberg reported. Kaunas District Court today also issued a decree naming the firm Valnetas UAB as Ukio’s bankruptcy administrator, the court said on its website. The decisions may be appealed within 10 days, according to the statement. Ukio was Lithuania’s fourth-largest bank by deposits when it was closed.

Tax havens such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands will work more closely with Britain and other European countries to fight tax evasion, British finance minister George Osborne said Thursday, the Irish Times reported. With governments in most advanced economies short of tax revenue after the financial crisis, pressure has been growing on small territories with big banking sectors to lift bank secrecy and do more to combat tax dodging and money laundering.

France and Italy presented a united front Wednesday on the eurozone debt crisis amid deepening divisions over belt-tightening policies in the European Union as some countries reach breaking point, Agence France-Presse reported. French President Francois Hollande met Italy's brand new Prime Minister Enrico Letta, in Paris only days after he took office, and warned that austerity alone was "no longer enough", stressing the need for a focus on growth.

Greece's government on Wednesday accepted a €652 million ($858.6 million) bid for state gambling company OPAP, marking the first significant asset sale in the country's long-delayed privatization program, The Wall Street Journal reported. Czech-led private-equity consortium Emma Delta won the bid for the acquisition of a 33% stake in OPAP, Greece's privatization agency said, after improving its earlier bid by €30 million to meet the government's minimum target price.

The euro zone jobless rate rose to a record 12.1 percent in March, a sharp reminder that unemployment remains among the region’s biggest problems, the International Herald Tribune reported. The unemployment rate in the 17-nation currency union ticked up by one-tenth of a percentage point from February, when the previous record was set, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported from Luxembourg. A year earlier, euro zone joblessness stood at 11 percent.

Enough customers have waived their claims against Intrade to allow the struggling online prediction market to remain solvent and pursue legal action against the estate of its founder, John Delaney, according to a director of the company, the Financial Times reported. The development comes weeks after the Dublin-based prediction market, which allowed customers to bet on everything from presidential elections to film box-office receipts, said it was likely to become insolvent and eventually liquidate after discovering a $700,000 shortfall in its customer segregated accounts.

Ireland faces at least two more years of tax increases and spending cuts before an easing of austerity in 2016, the Irish Times reported. According to the first formal projections for government spending and tax revenues beyond 2015, a neutral budget in 2016 depends on recovery in the Irish and international economies, the successful implementation of austerity budgets every year up to 2015, and no large additional banking costs.

French film camera manufacturer Aaton has entered financial receivership, according to a statement from company founder Jean-Pierre Beauviala posted to the French Society of Cinematographers (AFC) website, StudioDaily reported. Known for the Super 16 Xterà, the tiny Super 16 A-Minima, and most recently the 2-perf and 3-perf 35mm Penelope, the company was most recently developing the Penelope Delta, a digital camera that sought to replicate the ergonomics of the 35mm original.

President François Hollande offered an olive branch to France's restive business community on Monday with measures aimed at encouraging investment in startups, in a country desperate for economic growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Hollande's proposals—including breaks on capital-gains taxes as well as visas for foreign entrepreneurs—are part of a broader effort to build bridges to corporate leaders angry over sharp tax increases, and to alter the perception many foreign investors have of France as unfriendly to business. Indeed, Mr.

Irish entertainment rental and retail firm Xtra-vision has fallen into receivership after being "unable to meet its debts", MCVUK.com reported. The chain has 152 stores and 1,023 employees, according to Retail Week. It is unknown how many jobs will be lost. Xtra-vision cited steep declines in the movie rental business for its entry into receivership. Troubles in this market also caused UK rental chain Blockbuster to enter administration back in January. While Blockbuster was bought by the Gordon Brothers last month, Ernst & Young has been appointed as the retailer's receiver.