A trio of magic circle firms are advising on the high-profile restructuring of Southern Cross as the troubled care homes group attempts to reach a deal with landlords over unpaid rent, LegalWeek.com reported. The negotiations have attracted intense media attention in recent weeks amid fears that the group may have to close some of its homes due to difficulties in paying a multimillion-pound rent bill. Clifford Chance (CC) is advising Southern Cross on its restructuring.

Swedish car maker Saab has agreed a rescue package from two Chinese car companies, handing over a majority stake in return for a cash injection to avert a potential collapse, Reuters reported. Saab owner Spyker Cars said on Monday it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co to take a 29.9 percent stake in the company and Chinese car distributor Pangda (601258.SS) to take a 24 percent stake for a combined 245 million euros ($352 million).

Standard & Poor’s, the credit ratings agency, lowered its grade on Greek debt to CCC in the latest sign that the market believes that Greece will be forced to default on its debt, the International Herald Tribune reported. The three-notch downgrade makes Greece’s debt the lowest-rated in the world by S.& P., a spokesman for the agency said. The downgrade comes at a particularly awkward time for Greece. The government is trying to persuade legislators to accept a fresh set of austerity measures.

U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable Thursday ruled out a government rescue plan for struggling care home operator Southern Cross Healthcare Group PLC, despite unions urging intervention to protect the company's 31,000 elderly residents, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Speaking in the House of Commons, Cable promised that any resident who lost their place in a Southern Cross home would be re-housed. The business secretary also pledged to increase scrutiny of private companies providing public services.

More than half of the 882 smaller companies that responded to an ISME survey on access to credit from banks said they had been turned down, RTÉ News reported. The quarterly Bank Watch Survey reveals that 54% of small and medium sized businesses were turned down in the last three months. That compares to 48% refused credit in the prior three months. ISME said that 72% of its members feel banks are once again making it more difficult to access finance despite pronouncements to the contrary.

Embattled care home operator Southern Cross said there had been no decision to close any of its homes after a newspaper reported that it planned to cede control of 132 premises as part of a financial overhaul, Reuters reported. "No decision has been taken to close any of our homes," Southern Cross Chairman Christopher Fisher said in a statement on Friday. "Our primary concern in this matter remains the welfare of the residents living in our homes.

Highly indebted Greece needs a "soft, voluntary restructuring" of its debt, said Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the group of countries using the euro as a common currency, in a radio interview Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported. Backing proposals by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, Mr. Juncker told Inforadio Berlin Brandenburg that private lenders need to participate in a fresh aid program for Greece, but only on a voluntary basis. Also, any such move has to be made in a way that credit ratings agencies don't interpret as a credit default, he said.

Britain’s big banks are on schedule to beat lending targets set in a government peace deal this year, it has emerged, undermining mounting criticism from senior politicians that loan volumes are too low, the Financial Times reported. A government minister last week revealed details of the targets for actual lending set in the Project Merlin accord, struck between banks and the government in February. The secret numbers – dubbed “stretch targets” – are about 10 per cent below the official “capacity targets” published in the Merlin announcement.

US car giant General Motors appears to be ready to sell its subsiary Opel once again, amid continuing losses at the German firm, SPIEGEL reported. When GM abandoned an effort to sell the firm, the decision caused deep-seated tensions between the American company and the government in Berlin. In 2009, United States car manufacturer General Motors put its German subsidiary Opel up for sale, because GM itself was faced with bankruptcy.

A comprehensive source of information on new lending and demand for credit was called for yesterday to ensure businesses were not dissuaded from applying for bank credit, the Irish Times reported. John Moran, head of bank restructuring with the Department of Finance, said such a source would be “key to showing the reality” of both the demand for and supply of credit. At the annual Experian business lunch Mr Moran said the Government needed to “push ahead” with developing a strategy to put in place a more effective credit information system in Ireland.