Europe

Bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s affiliate Luxembourg Residential Properties Loan Finance filed for bankruptcy court protection in New York, Bloomberg reported. The Chapter 11 petition lists assets and debt of more than $1 billion each. According to court documents, the Luxembourg-based company is affiliated with Lehman Brothers and seeks to be consolidated with Lehman’s bankruptcy case. Luxembourg Trading Finance S.a.r.l. owns 100 percent of the affiliate’s equity, according to court documents. Lehman filed the largest bankruptcy in history on Sept.

Litigators from the London office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges have been retained by Kaupthing bank for an expected civil suit against the British government, The AmLaw Daily reported. The Reykjavik-based bank, which was nationalized in October, claims that it collapsed because U.K. authorities forced its British subsidiary into bankruptcy at the height of the banking crisis. Read more.

The Irish government has indicated that it may be ready to help current and former Ireland-based employees of Waterford Wedgwood to secure their pensions, after the luxury tableware company was put into receivership this week, the Financial Times reported. Waterford Wedgwood had a pension deficit of €111 million (£100 million) on October 4 which, together with its debts of just less than €450 million, are seen as the main issue for any prospective buyer.

Russia's gas price dispute with Ukraine escalated Tuesday, disrupting deliveries to the European Union in the midst of a bitter cold spell, with a number of countries reporting that gas supplies had been suspended or reduced, and Germany predicting a possible shortage, the International Herald Tribune reported. Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey, Greece, the Czech Republic and Austria reported that gas supplies had been suspended or reduced after Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, reduced gas shipments through Ukraine.

Japan's Sony Corp is likely to announce closures of Japanese factories and major divisions early next month, the Times of London said on Monday, but the company denied any such plan existed. The maker of Bravia flat TVs and PlayStation video game consoles faces halting sales and mounting piles of inventory in the wake of the financial crisis, even as a stronger yen bites into earnings.

Iceland's state-run Kaupthing bank will sue the British government for its decision to force the bank's British subsidiary into a form of bankruptcy, the Icelandic Prime Minister's office said Tuesday. The committee appointed to run Kaupthing, which collapsed last autumn, is taking Britain to court because it forced the unit Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander into administration at the height of Iceland's financial crisis, according to the prime minister's press secretary, the Associated Press reported.

Talks to salvage Waterford Wedgwood were under way with at least three US parties on Monday night after the owner of the historic crystal and porcelain brands was forced into receivership, the Financial Times reported. Lenders, led by Bank of America, called in their loans to the company, which can trace its roots back to 1759, after talks with a US private equity investor collapsed at the weekend.

The quickening pace of Russia's rouble devaluation is piling pressure on the currencies of its neighbours and putting those without Moscow's sizeable reserves at risk of foreign debt default and further capital flight, Forbes reported. Investors are shying away from currencies such as Ukraine's hryvnia as the world economic slowdown crushes demand for its exports, global risk aversion shines a harsh light on Kiev's turbulent politics and Russia demonstrates its stranglehold on the country's energy supplies.

The Irish economy, pummeled by the most severe housing bust in Europe, has collapsed, The New York Times reported. Everything, it seems, has grown worse here. The recession started earlier and its bite has been deeper. Housing prices have fallen by as much as 50 percent. Bank shares have plummeted by more than 90 percent. Unemployment is approaching 10 percent. Government policy that chopped taxes in half, sharply reduced import duties and embraced foreign investment gave birth to the Celtic Tiger, perhaps the most open and vibrant economy in Europe.

Waterford Wedgwood Plc received protection from creditors after losing money for five years and failing to find a buyer, threatening an Irish crystal-making heritage that dates back to 1759, Bloomberg reported. As many as 1,900 Irish and British jobs may be at risk if no buyer emerges. Deloitte Ireland was appointed as receiver for the company and some local units, Dublin-based Waterford said today in a statement. Its shares were suspended in Dublin.