Europe

A high-level meeting over a French plan to offer assistance to its car industry ended on Wednesday night with France insisting that the measures would not be protectionist, but Brussels warning that some restructuring of the sector would be needed, the Financial Times reported. The meeting was scheduled this week between Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, and Luc Chatel, the French industry minister.

Sakthi Sugars Ltd said on Thursday two of its European units have filed for bankruptcy as required under local laws following an economic slowdown in United States and Europe, which resulted in a drastic reduction in orders, Reuters reported. Sakthi Germany GmbH, a 6th step down subsidiary which operates two plants in the country, and Sakthi Sweden A.B., a 3rd step down unit and a Swedish holding company, have filed for bankruptcy under the laws of the respective countries, it said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Icelandic retailer Baugur, which holds stakes in House of Fraser, French Connection and Debenhams, said today that it has applied for bankruptcy protection, RTÉ reported. The decision came after the Icelandic retailer said last week it would close its Reykjavik office and cut staff in Britain. In December, the heads of Baugur were also charged with tax evasion amounting to €1.9 million from 1998 to 2003.

The number of registered unemployed people in Spain swelled by nearly 200,000 in January, the fastest monthly increase in more than a decade, as companies struggling with declining sales and liquidity problems laid off workers or declared bankruptcy, the International Herald Tribune reported. The Labor Ministry said Tuesday that the number of people out of work rose to 3.33 million, a 6.4 percent increase over December and a jump of 47 percent since January 2008.

Famed German model railway maker Maerklin filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors on Wednesday after it failed to secure new credit from banks, the International Herald Tribune reported. Maerklin Holding GmbH made the bankruptcy filing at a court in Goeppingen, the company's southwestern German home town. The company said that its everyday business would continue unaffected. Maerklin began 150 years ago as a small factory making tin toys and has evolved into an iconic name in the model railway market.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, her challenger in Sept. 27 elections, failed to resolve a coalition dispute over nationalization of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, Bloomberg reported. Talks at the chancellery in Berlin Wednesday broke up with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and Steinmeier’s Social Democratic Party unable to bridge a divide over how to save Hypo Real, the Munich-based property lender that’s already received €92 billion ($120 billion) in public funds. Merkel’s dilemma over nationalization of banks is echoed internationally. U.K.

Banco Santander SA’s €1.38 billion ($1.8 billion) offer to compensate clients hit by Bernard Madoff’s alleged fraud may leave them with preferred shares they can’t trade and that the bank might not buy back, Bloomberg reported. That’s a risk Santander clients will have to weigh along with the strings attached to the offer of stock paying a 2 percent annual yield. They include foregoing any legal action and keeping Spain’s biggest lender as their “preferred” bank as long as the shares stay in circulation, which may be indefinitely, according to a proposal seen by Bloomberg News.

Hundreds of British workers walked off the job today, part of a rising tide of industrial unrest sweeping Europe as the continent's economic downturn worsens, the Los Angeles Times reported. Employees at two nuclear power plants in northern England staged wildcat strikes in support of workers at an oil refinery who have been out in protest since the end of last week.

Some Spanish television companies are facing bankruptcy and the government should not slash advertising prices for state-owned channels, Spanish media group Telecinco's chief executive said in an interview published on El Mundo's website on Monday. "The television sector....is facing bankruptcy and all the alarm bells are ringing," Paolo Vasile was cited as saying. Telecinco has been hit by Spain's sharp economic slowdown, which has meant advertisers are cutting budgets.

A spokeswoman for Clifford Chance confirmed a Law.com report that the firm had lost about 20 percent of the lawyers from its Moscow office through layoffs and natural attrition, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. “It's a continuing situation that has been under review for several months now,” spokeswoman Anne Groves said. The news broke just a couple of weeks after the firm announced a redundancy program that could lead to job losses for up to 80 additional attorneys in London.