Billionaire Nicolas Berggruen said on Thursday that final hurdles have been cleared for him to buy German department store chain Karstadt, ending months of haggling by the retailer's main landlord with lenders. "All those who had to say 'yes' have said 'yes.'" Berggruen told Reuters Television. "Now the real work starts so that this is a success." He added that only administrative details needed to be dealt with before all involved parties could sign the contract.

The number of unemployment benefit claimants rose by 2,500 in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, The Irish Times reported. Some 455,000 people are now in receipt of benefits according to the Central Statistics Office. This the largest number ever recorded since the Live Register of claimants was first compiled in 1967. The standardised unemployment rate, which is calculated separately, rose to 13.8 per cent last month, up from 13.7 per cent in July. It was 13.1 per cent at the start of the year. The rate of joblessness in August was the highest since mid-1994.

Spain's deficit is down sharply thanks to an unpopular cocktail of tax hikes and austerity cuts - good news for a government fighting to ward off fears it might need a bailout like the one that saved Greece from bankruptcy, The Associated Press reported. Still, with a fifth of the work force out of a job and businesses struggling to survive, the spending cuts that are helping the budget are likely to keep any economic recovery subdued. The stock market's IBEX 35 index closed 3.51 percent up at the close of trading Wednesday.

Swedish investment bank HQ, which was closed by authorities at the weekend for breaking risk rules, said it would unveil a deal on Thursday amid frantic efforts to find a buyer for the niche bank. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) stripped HQ of its licence after the watchdog found it broke banking and risk regulations at its trading operation, which was shut down by HQ in June. "HQ Bank is planning a news conference on Thursday to present the details of an agreement," the bank said in a short statement.

Anglo Irish Bank made an €8.2 billion loss for the first six months of the year after writing off €5.8 billion on loans sold or heading for Nama and €2.5 billion on loans remaining at the bank. Provisions and impairments totalling €8.3 billion were offset by an operating profit of €151 million, which left the bank with an €8.2 billion loss for the six-month period. The loss surpassed the previous record set by Anglo last year for the highest loss for a six-month period taken by an Irish company. The bank lost €4.1 billion for the corresponding period last year – the six months to March 2009.

Eircom warned that it could breach the covenants on its €3.8 billion net debt within the next 12 to 18 months as the company’s revenues continue to shrink in the recession, The Irish Times reported. It also wants a reduction in labour costs of €90 million over the next three years to make the business more competitive. This is all against a backdrop of declining sales across the group. Revenues fell by 8.5 per cent in the year to the end of June to just more than €1.8 billion. On a positive note, Eircom trimmed its operating costs by 11.5 per cent.

Swedish investment bank HQ AB said it is entering liquidation after its license was revoked over the weekend, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The Swedish financial-supervisory authority, Finansinspektionen, Saturday pulled the bank's license, citing violation of both Swedish accounting and capital-requirement regulations. The regulator said HQ had overvalued its trading portfolio and inaccurately reported its financial position, believing a correct valuation would have shown that the bank has been undercapitalized since December 2008.

The High Court has appointed an interim examiner to regional airline Aer Arann. The move gives the company court protection to enable the examiner to implement a restructuring plan, RTÉ Business reported. Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton is to be interim examiner to Comhfhorbairt (Gaillimh), which trades as Aer Arann. A statement from the airline said Mr.McAteer's appointment would not affect day-to-day business and the company would continue to operate as normal. Aer Arann said there would be no impact on customer travel or bookings.

The European Central Bank is expected this week to extend emergency support for eurozone banks until early next year as it gauges how well the 16-country region might withstand a big US or global slowdown, the Financial Times reported. Eurozone growth is exceeding the ECB’s expectations, and signs have emerged of Germany’s rapid growth spurt becoming broader than just export-led.

Truvo Group's unsecured creditors say the European directory publisher's proposed plan to hand control of the company to its senior lenders is a "sham," Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In papers filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the creditors allege that the Chapter 11 filing by Truvo USA and four other holding companies at the top of Truvo Group's corporate structure is a scheme to sever unsecured bondholders' liens against the company's operating assets and push through a debt-for-equity swap with secured lenders.