Headlines

Hibu, the Reading-based Yellow Pages company, has placed six US subsidiaries into Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection as the firm attempts to restructure its overseas operations, following the firm’s UK restructuring which started last month, IT Pro Portal reported. Hibu filed with the US Bankruptcy Court in New York, listing over $1 billion (£600 million) in assets and liabilities. Just over half of Hibu’s revenue comes from the US, where it operates the “Yellowbook” (the US version of the Yellow Pages directory) across most states. The firm employs almost 5,000 personnel in America.

The European Central Bank on Monday defended the credibility of its continuing bank review and impending bank stress test, saying they strike the right balance between being tough and protecting the fragile euro-zone recovery, The Wall Street Journal reported. "Preparations for the stress test are well under way and we are confident that, in close coordination with the European Banking Authority, the outcome will be transparent and credible, boosting the European banking sector," said Vitor Constâncio, vice president of the ECB.

Several possible investors have expressed their interest in German insolvent bookseller Weltbild, a spokesman for its insolvency administrator said, Reuters reported. It was not yet clear how many of them would decide to do due diligence of Weltbild, he said on Monday. Weltbild, owned by the Roman Catholic Church, filed for insolvency last month after failing to keep up with competition from internet-based rivals such as Amazon.com and to obtain new financing.

Austria should at least consider allowing troubled lender Hypo Alpe Adria to go bust, a prominent economist said on Monday, opposing the official line in an increasingly heated debate about how to handle the nationalised bank, Reuters reported. The government, central bank and a special Hypo task force have warned that a Hypo insolvency might trigger a chain reaction that could suck in other banks and ruin Austria's reputation on international capital markets. Austria took over Hypo in 2009 after the bank's breakneck expansion pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy.

Spain is preparing to start selling down its stake in Bankia SA, the bailed-out lender said yesterday, marking another milestone in the recovery from financial crisis of both the bank and the country, the Irish Times reported. Bankia, which returned to profit in 2013, said it had already held informal talks over the disposal of the government’s stake and its shares were attracting strong interest from foreign investors.

Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of Newcastle United football club, flew into Dublin over the weekend as part of a last- ditch bid to prevent the proposed sale of Elverys Sports to its management and other investors, the Irish Times reported. Mr Ashley controls the listed UK retailer Sports Direct, which owns a 50 per cent stake in Heatons, the Irish department store chain. Heatons wants to buy Elverys, which is close to finalising a deal, backed by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), to be bought out by a consortium assembled by the advisory firm Capnua.

Grenada’s proposed debt restructuring could take “considerable time,” according to New York-based ratings firm Standard & Poor’s, Caribbean Journal reported. The firm announced Friday that its “SD,” or selective default, rating on Grenada had remained unchanged. Grenada defaulted in March 2013 on its foreign and local currency debt maturing in 2025, ceasing service on $193 million external debt and EC $184 million in local currency debt.

China's onetime solar-power giant Suntech Power Holdings Co. plans to file for bankruptcy protection in U.S. court as its leaders negotiate with the holders of more than $500 million in U.S. convertible bonds, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported. Suntech Power Holdings, which was once the world's largest solar panel maker, defaulted on its U.S. debt in March, and financial professionals in the Cayman Islands—where the holding company is incorporated—have been trying to negotiate a repayment plan with bondholders.

Tuscany International Drilling Inc., a Canadian oil-field services company that operates in South America, sought U.S. bankruptcy court protection from creditors, citing heavy competition and slow payments from customers, Bloomberg News reported. The Calgary-based company listed assets and debt of as much as $500 million each in Chapter 11 papers filed today in Wilmington, Delaware. A Houston-based affiliated holding company also filed for bankruptcy.

Romania, using record-low interest rates to rebuild a housing market devastated by the economic crisis, is forcing homebuyers like Vlad Popescu to abandon cheap euro-denominated mortgages in the name of financial stability, Bloomberg News reported. In October, the government changed the terms of a four-year-old program for euro loans to only cover credit in the Romanian currency, the leu. In the following months, banks, led by Erste Group (EBS) Bank AG’s Banca Comerciala Romana SA and BRD-Groupe Societe Generale SA, accelerated leu mortgage lending.