Headlines

The businessman who took legal action in an attempt to halt the State’s decision to pay promissory notes to the banks has said he will challenge the plans to ‘name and shame’ individuals under new insolvency legislation, the Irish Times reported. David Hall of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation said he had “hundreds” of clients, many of whom would be prepared to challenge the proposed publication of their names on any of the four planned registers.

Britain finds out on Thursday if its stagnant economy has slipped back into recession, a week after the International Monetary Fund urged Chancellor George Osborne to consider scaling back his austerity programme. Economists estimate that Britain's $2.4 trillion (1.5 trillion pounds) economy eked out growth of 0.1 percent in the first three months to March, according to a Reuters poll. That would avoid a second quarter of contraction - the definition of a recession - after it shrank by 0.3 percent in the last three months of 2012.

Waikato and Auckland house builder Starplus Homes is in receivership, a move guaranteed to raise the fears of dozens of creditors believed to be owed about $25 million, the Waikato Times reported. Westpac Bank appointed Corporate Finance's Andrew McKay and John Cregten as receivers yesterday afternoon, further confusing the situation around a property company failure thought to be the biggest in the Waikato since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008. Up to 140 Hamilton, Cambridge and Auckland house sites and partially completed houses may be involved.

Portugal unveiled an ambitious stimulus program on Tuesday to resuscitate its economy despite new concerns about some public companies that could hit the government's budget plans, The Wall Street Journal reported. Economy Minister Álvaro Santos Pereira said the government will aim to cut the corporate tax rate, provide incentives for foreign companies to move to Portugal, tackle a highly bureaucratic system that hurts investments and offer financing for small- and medium-size enterprises at attractive terms. Mr.

Private-sector activity in the euro zone declined again in April, a development likely to add to calls for a shift away from austerity and toward policies that stimulate growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to a survey of purchasing managers, business activity in Germany fell for the first time since November. Similar surveys recorded slowdowns in the growth of Chinese and U.S. manufacturing activity, leading to concerns that the global economy may be faltering.

Spain will on Friday reveal plans for a fresh overhaul of its pension system, labour market, service sector and fiscal management, as Madrid prepares to soften its austerity programme in favour of a new focus on structural reforms, the Financial Times reported. The government of Mariano Rajoy hopes the package of measures will bolster investor confidence in the Spanish economy, which is scarred by a two-year recession and soaring unemployment.

A Lithuanian court said it would consider starting bankruptcy proceedings against Ukio Bankas AB at the request of the central bank, which shut the lender in February citing risky loans to related parties, Bloomberg reported. Kaunas District Court agreed today to consider the Bank of Lithuania’s request in a written process with a hearing on May 2, court spokeswoman Gintare Putnikiene said by phone. Ukio was Lithuania’s fourth-largest bank by deposits when it was closed.

Ireland should apply for a precautionary aid programme as part of its bailout exit strategy, Goodbody Stockbrokers said Tuesday, the Irish Times reported. In its quarterly economic commentary, the brokerage warned that while the country was on track to exit the troika programme later this year, significant vulnerabilities still existed. It cited the banking system and the recent rejection of the public sector pay deal as examples of potential "banana skins" which could frustrate the country's economic progress.

NordLB's, one of the world's top ten ship financiers, expects the shipping industry to have passed its darkest hour, though provisions will remain high this year as the sector's recovery is slow, Reuters reported. "There are signs that we have passed the cyclical low point in shipping markets," Chief Executive Gunter Dunkel said at the state-owned lender's annual press conference on Tuesday, adding that he did not expect the crisis to end in the near term.

Greece's Eurobank said Monday it will turn exclusively to government aid to boost its capital, making it the first domestic bank to fall under state control, Dow Jones reported. The lender eschewed plans to raise money from investors that would have secured management control of the lender. Like other banks in Greece, Eurobank got into financial difficulties after it incurred steep losses last year from Greece's debt restructuring and was also hit with rising non-performing loans.