An international adoption agency that collapsed this summer, stunning hundreds of would-be adoptive parents who had put up thousands of dollars, was moved out of bankruptcy yesterday, The London Free Press reported. The proposed restructuring of Imagine Adoption was approved by a Kitchener court yesterday. Its new directors can take control from bankruptcy trustees who had been running the organization since mid-July. The Cambridge-based agency, which facilitated adoptions largely from Ethiopia, went bankrupt in mid-July amid questions from its then-board about staff spending.

Ukrainian officials held talks in London with investors in hopes of winning a reprieve on $500 million worth of Eurobonds issued by the state energy company Naftogaz that mature Wednesday, Newsday reported on an Associated Press story. The debt-laden company, a crucial link for supplies of Russian natural gas to Europe, is seeking to restructure $1.65 billion in foreign debt coming due this year, including the Eurobonds.

Swedish banking group SEB said on Tuesday it would inject more capital into its operations in Lithuania and Latvia due to rising bad loan provisions. SEB spokeswoman Viveka Hirdman-Ryrberg said the bank made 5.95 billion Swedish crowns ($847 million) of loan loss provisions in the first half of the year due to the global financial crisis. Lithuania's economy nosedived into its worst recession since early 1990s with gross domestic product falling 20.2 percent in the second quarter.

More uncertainty was injected into the planned sale of General Motors Co.'s Opel to a group led by Magna International Inc. as Spain urged European regulators to investigate the agreement and Germany's Free Democrats, consistent critics of the deal, were poised to win a powerful voice in Germany's new government, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal has run into steady fire from Magna customers and European governments alike since the Canadian auto-parts maker reached a preliminary agreement to buy a majority stake in Opel earlier this month.

Average Irish national house prices fell 1.5% in August according to the latest edition of the permanent tsb / ESRI House Price Index, Finfacts reported. In the first eight months to end August 2009 national house prices have fallen by 10.1% which compares to a reduction of 6.0% in the same period in 2008. Measured over the 12 months (year on year) to August, national prices were down by 13.0%. This compares to a decline of 12.5% recorded in the 12 months to July 2009.

Nearly 35 years after winning independence from Portugal, Angola is being populated by its former colonizer once again -- this time by professionals and scores of workers laid off amid the economic slump, The Wall Street Journal reported. Portugal has been hard hit by the global downturn. Unemployment in the second quarter was 9.2% and the economy is expected to shrink by 3.7% this year. Temporary and seasonal construction work in other European Union countries -- a mainstay for Portuguese laborers -- have been drying up.

An Australian court has ruled that local governments can pursue financial claims against collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in Australia and elsewhere, a firm that is funding the litigation said on Monday, Reuters reported. IMF (Australia) Ltd said the Federal Court ruled on Friday in favour of town councils and others which had lost money in collateralised debt obligations marketed and issued by Lehman, opening the door to legal claims to recover their losses.

The Italian fashion house Ferré put on a fashion show Friday as its owner, IT Holding SpA, is seeking buyers to take it out of bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal’s Bankruptcy Beat blog reported. IT Holding filed for bankruptcy protection in Italy in February after failing to service more than $400 million in debt and make royalty payments to its designers, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Government administrators have since taken the company’s reins. Despite the struggles of its parent, Ferré has pledged to reinvent itself.

Receivers have been appointed to manage seven trophy London office buildings owned by billionaire Simon Halabi, real estate company CB Richard Ellis said on Friday, Reuters reported. The buildings are part of a portfolio of assets that back a 1.15 billion pound ($1.84 billion) securitisation which has gone sour after the value of the underlying assets collapsed. CBRE is the "special servicer" of the securitisation seeking to maximise returns to bondholders. The properties include a landmark City of London building occupied by insurer Aviva Plc.

Spain's government on Saturday agreed a 2010 budget, which includes tax rises to cover increases in government spending as Spain fights a recession after a huge housing boom, Finfacts reported. The government said in a statement that it now forecasts a total 2010 budget deficit equal to 8.1% of GDP (gross domestic product), compared to 8.4% previously and the Euro 3% Growth and Stability Pact.