Headlines

U.K. entertainment rights company Chorion is on the brink of collapse and owner 3i Group PLC is expected to appoint Deloitte as administrator shortly, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. 3i bought the owner of rights to such popular literary and entertainment brands as Enid Blyton's Noddy and the Agatha Christie crime novels in a GBP136 million ($221.5 million) buyout in May 2006.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is weighing whether to yield to a demand by some lawmakers for a bigger voice in future debt bailouts as a condition to win her party's approval for a stronger euro-zone rescue fund, as a parliamentary vote on the issue was delayed a week, The Wall Street Journal reported. Granting the German parliament the right to approve or reject future bailouts could trigger similar demands from parliaments across the euro zone, whose lawmakers are closely observing Berlin's actions. That could lead to further delays in the EU's approval for the Greek rescue.

Hart Stores Inc. has obtained an initial order for court protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, CanadianBusiness.com reported on a Canadian Press story. The company, which owns mid-sized department stores throughout Eastern Canada, said that the move will allow its locations to operate while it restructures. Hart Stores received approval from the Quebec Superior Court for protection under CCAA until Sept. 29, though extensions could be granted. RSM Richter Inc. was appointed as the monitor.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, acknowledged on Monday that growth in the euro zone could be weaker than expected, suggesting that the central bank might be more reluctant to raise interest rates again, the International Herald Tribune reported. But Mr.

The Italian government backtracked on parts of its widely criticized austerity package on Monday, scrapping a tax on high earners and scaling back cuts to local authority funding, The Globe and Mail reported. In a statement after seven hours of talks at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s home outside Milan, the government said it would also exclude years spent at university and military service from retirement age calculations, delaying retirement for some people.

Wellington property developer Terry Serepisos has had bankruptcy proceedings against him adjourned so he can organise the sell-down of over $230 million worth of property, The National Business Review reported. John Billington, Mr Serepisos' new lawyer, told the Wellington High Court today that his client wants to work with insolvency specialists to sell his property portfolio, which includes about 150 residential properties and six significant commercial properties, all in Wellington.

Swedish auto maker Saab Automobile AB could be forced into bankruptcy over unpaid wages by the end of this week, labor union IF Metall said Monday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Darko Davidovic, a lawyer at IF Metall, told Dow Jones that on Aug. 26 Saab received requests for payment of the union's 1,486 members' wages for August. Read more. (Subscription required.)

BDO Canada Ltd. has acquired KPMG's consumer insolvency practice for an undisclosed price, making it one of the country's largest providers of such bankruptcy and credit counselling services, The Globe and Mail reported on a Canadian Press story. The integrated services — which offer trustees in consumer bankruptcy, proposal administrators and credit counsellors — began operating under the BDO Canada Ltd. name effective last Friday. BDO is the fifth-largest single national accounting and advisory partnership in Canada.

The European economy is set to soften further and there are real concerns that the financial market turmoil will derail the recovery, European Union Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said Monday, Dow Jones reported.

A new agency with legal powers to enforce debt restructuring agreements between banks and struggling home owners is being considered by the Government to deal with the rise in distressed mortgages. The Cabinet is awaiting a report from an expert group, which is due by the end of next month, before making any major decisions in this area. However, a high-level Government source told the Irish Times yesterday it would avoid any measures “on such a scale that people feel they can abandon their mortgages”.