The David Drumm bankruptcy case has been told that the former banker’s wife, Lorraine, now has her own legal representative, The Irish Times reported. In a filing yesterday, attorney Christopher Panos of Boston said he was now representing Ms Drumm. He has requested that copies of all orders, pleadings, etc in the case now be forwarded to him. This means both Mr Drumm and his wife will be receiving copies of the filings in the case.

Two businessmen are being pursued by Bank of Scotland Ireland for judgment orders of some €1.2 million arising from personal guarantees allegedly provided by them over loans to a company, The Irish Times reported. BoSI has brought proceedings against Frank Ennis, Rock Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin, and Milltown Hall, St Anne’s, Dublin, and against Brian Palmer, Brennanstown Road, Cabinteely, over their alleged June 2008 guarantees of the debts of a company, the Doughmaster Ltd, up to a maximum €2 million.

In contrast to the cacophony of comments from European politicians, the International Monetary Fund has kept its voice down as it enters negotiations to provide rescue loans to Ireland, the Financial Times reported. But the fund will provide about a third of the money and a lot of the policy credibility of the bail-out. Having first tried to go it alone during the Greek crisis, eurozone governments have now accepted that they need the IMF’s reputation and expertise.

Ireland's financial crisis morphed into political turmoil Monday, as the country's coalition government began to unravel in the wake of an unpopular international bailout and Prime Minister Brian Cowen pledged to call an election next year if a crucial budget package is approved, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Cowen's concession on early elections was triggered by moves earlier Monday that undercut the stability of the shaky coalition led by his Fianna Fail party.

The number of U.K. business insolvencies fell 17 percent in October from a year earlier as companies’ financial positions improved, Experian Plc said, Bloomberg reported. Insolvencies declined to 1,635 from 1,976 in the same month a year ago, Experian said in a report released by e-mail today in Nottingham, England. The proportion of companies that failed slipped to 0.08 percent from 0.1 percent in October 2009. Experian said Britain’s “largest companies” recorded the biggest improvement in the insolvency rate, falling to 0.1 percent from 0.16 percent.

Ireland finally sought tens of billions in bailout money from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund after weeks of bickering that has exposed the limits of Europe's attempt to restore financial markets' confidence in the stability of its single currency, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal between Ireland and the EU took shape Sunday as EU finance ministers backed Ireland's request for a three-year package of loans totaling roughly €80 billion ($110 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr Justice Clarke of the High Court has appointed an interim examiner to the Four Star Pizza takeaway chain after it was heard that the company is insolvent and unable to pay its debts, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. The Company has a debt to National Irish Bank of €4.9 million and its other creditors include an ingredients supply firm, a printing firm and the Revenue Commissioners. The appointment comes as Courts grow increasingly reluctant to grant Examinerships to struggling firms.

As Dublin moves begrudgingly toward accepting a European Union bailout, attention is rapidly shifting to Portugal, the country perceived to be as weak a link in the euro zone as Ireland, though for different reasons, the International Herald Tribune reported. While Portugal’s leaders, like Ireland’s, insist that they have enough money for now and are making brave and necessary cuts to government spending, in fact the Portuguese government is both divided and stalemated.

Top Irish government officials acknowledged for the first time Thursday that the country is grudgingly edging toward a massive international bailout, The Wall Street Journal reported. Patrick Honohan, the head of Ireland's central bank, said he expects the country will receive "tens of billions" in international loans. "It will be a large loan because the purpose…is to show Ireland has sufficient firepower to deal with any concerns of the market," he said in a radio interview. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan added: "It's clear we will need some form of external assistance. ...

British menswear retailer Suits You is closing down with the loss of about 370 jobs, administrators to parent company Speciality Retail Group Ltd said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Zolfo Cooper said all 66 Suits You shops would close, with 10 shutting before the end of November, but most continuing to trade over Christmas before closing in the new year. "We looked at trading the business in the longer term, however this has not proved to be financially viable," said Fraser Gray, a partner at Zolfo Cooper. Zolfo Cooper were appointed joint administrators to Speciality Retail Group on Oct.