Headlines

Greece's new prime minister headed to Brussels on Sunday to fight for the aid Athens needs to avoid bankruptcy, even as one of his coalition backers refused to give a written pledge to support reforms and a public sector union geared up for strikes, Reuters reported Sunday. Lucas Papademos must convince the International Monetary Fund and the European Union to give Greece the 8 billion euros it needs to avoid a mid-December default, but the conservative New Democracy party has refused to meet their most basic demand.

General Maritime Corp., the second-largest U.S. owner of oil tankers, can draw $30 million of a $75 million loan that will require it to file a plan of reorganization in 75 days or sell all its assets, Bloomberg reported Friday. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan court today approved the company’s request to borrow funds from Nordea Bank Finland Plc and other lenders. The company, which operates in over 230 ports of call in over 70 countries, filed for bankruptcy yesterday after falling oil demand and a surplus of ships led to two years of losses.

The focus of media coverage of the last week has been squarely on Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), when the cancellation of a 40-odd flights on a single day, a number that eventually exceeded 80, triggering shock waves in business and consumer circles, the Business Standard reported today.

The International Monetary Fund is inserting itself more forcefully into Europe's efforts to resolve its debt crisis, hoping to stem a contagion that is spreading worldwide and threatening global growth, Reuters reported. Uncertainty is turning into frustration and near-panic among policymakers outside Europe as larger European economies such as Italy, Spain and France come under attack by financial markets and bank funding stresses worsen.

David Cameron will be warned that he risks creating an unstoppable momentum behind a "two-speed Europe", which would be dominated by France and Germany, if Britain demands too many concessions during the eurozone crisis, The Guardian reported. In a series of meetings in Berlin and Brussels, the prime minister will be advised that Britain should table modest proposals next year when EU leaders embark on a small treaty revision to underpin the euro. Cameron will have breakfast in Brussels with José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission.

The problems facing the global shipping industry continued on Thursday as Danish oil tanker operator Torm postponed an equity rights issue as it tried to renegotiate its debt repayment schedule with banks, the Financial Times reported. The company, which is majority owned by the Greek Panayotides shipping family, also unveiled an unexpectedly deep third-quarter net loss of $70.4m. The worldwide oversupply of ships has pushed the industry into its worst financial crisis in decades, with earnings well below operating expenses in many markets pushing companies into heavy losses.

China’s banking regulator warned lenders that some projects backed by local governments may run out of funds, and loans to property developers are likely to sour as sales slow, a person with knowledge of the matter said, Bloomberg reported. The China Banking Regulatory Commission told lenders last week to step up asset sales and debt restructuring for unprofitable local government financing vehicles that are struggling to repay loans, the person said, declining to be identified as the instructions were private.

The Reserve Bank of India has warned of deep imbalances in the country’s banking system saying that capital is being allocated to a handful of elite industrialists but not to the broader, more dynamic economy. Such a constrained banking system in a large emerging market threatens to put a major drag on economic growth, according to the RBI and economists. It also poses a social threat in an economy that needs to create millions of jobs among a young population. K.C.

The British government has agreed to sell Northern Rock, the failed mortgage lender it nationalised in 2008, to Virgin Money, the banking arm of Richard Branson's Virgin empire, the Irish Times reported. Northern Rock, the first banking asset bought by the government during the financial crisis to be offloaded, will fetch between £747 million and £1 billion (€1.16 billion) in cash, the finance ministry said today. Even at the upper end that would mean a £400 million loss on the £1.4 billion in equity pumped into the lender by taxpayers at the height of the credit crunch.

The eurozone’s six triple A rated countries should have greater say in economic affairs within the single currency and act as its inner “core”, Finland’s Europe minister will on Thursday argue, the latest sign that a small subset of countries are attempting to band together to set new rules for the euro, the Financial Times reported. Alex Stubb said in an interview he did not believe new institutions should be created to give the triple A countries more power.