Headlines

Italy's second-largest steelmaker Lucchini will ask the Italian government for permission to sell its Piombino complex to family-owned Algerian conglomerate Cevital, the company said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Lucchini was previously owned by Russia's Severstal but was declared insolvent in 2012 and placed into special administration, battered by slowing demand following the 2008-2009 financial crisis and stiff competition from Asia. The company received two offers for its core assets in Piombino, one from Cevital and the other from India's JSW Steel .

Germany’s central bank has warned that corporate debt is becoming overpriced and threatens the financial stability of Europe’s biggest economy, the Financial Times reported. The comments from the Bundesbank come as the European Central Bank considers buying corporate bonds to expand its balance sheet and stave off the threat of economic stagnation in the eurozone.

The European Union authorities are set to unveil a long-awaited investment plan on Wednesday with the ambition of channeling 315 billion euros into public infrastructure projects like transportation, communications and energy over the next three years, the International New York Times reported. The plan, worth the equivalent of $393 billion if it reaches its target, is meant to spur growth among the 28 nations in the bloc, in response to concerns that Europe is tumbling into a lost decade of low growth and high unemployment.

When Canada disbursed billions of dollars in the auto-sector bailout nearly half a decade ago, it did so without reviewing the automakers’ final restructuring plans and with limited research on how the loans would be repaid, a government watchdog says, The Wall Street Journal Canada Real Time blog reported. Canada’s Auditor General, the equivalent of the U.S. General Accountability Office, highlighted the flaws in the government’s approach to providing the funds to General Motors Co.’s Canadian unit and Chrysler Canada in a report Tuesday.

Bonuses handed out to senior bosses at Royal Bank of Scotland are facing renewed scrutiny after the chairman of the bailed-out bank apologised for inaccuracies in evidence given to MPs about its restructuring division, The Guardian reported. Sir Philip Hampton admitted evidence given by two of the most senior bankers to the Treasury select committee was incorrect. The division is facing accusations about its treatment of small businesses.

Bromak, the major shareholder at Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB), is to request an international report on whether the bank's capital is a negative equity, the company's lawyers said on Monday, novinite.com reported. Comments from Menko Menkov and Tervel Georgiev followed a decision of the Sofia City Court to halt the insolvency proceedings started by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The court cited last week's appeal lodged by Bromak, owned by Tsvetan Vasilev, against the proceedings.

Greek government officials will meet in Paris tomorrow with representatives of the so-called troika of international creditors in a bid to break a deadlock over freeing up the last tranche of the country’s bailout, Bloomberg News reported. Bonds gained today after the Greek Finance Ministry said in a statement that Greece and its creditors will discuss how to move forward with the current review and the framework for a post-bailout agreement.

Members of the family of bankrupt businessman Sean Quinn want court orders permitting them cross-examine Irish Bank Resolution Corporation special liquidator Kieran Wallace regarding claims they may be hiding up to €500 million in undisclosed assets from the bank, the Irish Times reported. The Quinns say those claims, made on foot of information from unidentified informants, are “scurrilous lies”. Despite orders obtained by IBRC from the London and US courts for disclosure of documents, nothing has been obtained to support the allegations, they also say.

Lawyers representing the provincial government took centre stage at U.S. Steel Canada’s restructuring hearing on Thursday, as the court worked toward figuring out who should gets paid first if the company is sold or goes bankrupt. The province won the right to file future claims against U.S. Steel Canada during its restructuring, while also successfully arguing the court will be allowed to examine the American parent's claim when it comes time to decide who what piece of the proceeds or assets. U.S.

South America’s most economically troubled country, facing fears of a debt default amid tumbling oil prices and a cash crunch, has been thrown a lifeline by its largest lender, China, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Asian giant loosened repayment terms on the nearly $50 billion in loans it has granted Venezuela since 2007, according to Venezuela’s Official Gazette. And President Nicolás Maduro said in a speech last week that his finance minister, Rodolfo Marco, would soon travel to China to try to secure new loans. Mr.