Headlines

Changes in the bankruptcy laws to help people in difficulty with their mortgages will be published as soon as possible, the Department of Justice said last week, the Irish Times reported. A spokeswoman for the department said interim measures to reform the law on bankruptcy were being drafted with a view to publication this year. “The Bankruptcy Act 1988, as it stands, does not meet the needs of modern social and economic conditions,” said the spokeswoman.

Frustration over Vietnamese state-run shipbuilder Vinashin's failure to repay loans it defaulted on last year is intensifying among creditors, potentially jeopardizing Vietnam's plans to draw more investment to improve its infrastructure and reduce the bottlenecks that threaten its growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. The problems at Vinashin point to the risks of investing in what, on the face of it, is one of the world's most attractive emerging markets.

It’s hard to imagine a worse time for the International Monetary Fund to be without a forceful European leader, the International Herald Tribune reported. Sinking under a mountain of debt, Greece is on the verge of requesting more help from the European Union and the international fund. Ireland’s economic recovery from its banking crisis remains a distant prospect at best. And once an international aid deal is concluded for Portugal, the question shifts to whether Spain’s much larger and increasingly stagnant economy may need a financial lifeline.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has pledged Ireland will not restructure its debts, the Irish Times reported. He made the comments at a conference in Oslo today. The Government is "confident" it will be able to reduce its deficit under the current economic programme, he said. In an Irish Times article last week, economist Prof Morgan Kelly said the country was on track to owe a quarter of a trillion euro by 2014, and said a prolonged and chaotic national bankruptcy was becoming "inevitable".

Menswear retail chain Ed Harry has been sold to a management buyout group led by the company's chief executive and chief financial officer, just three months after the company fell into voluntary administration due to the precarious retail industry, SmartCompany.com.au reported. The new management team have said they will acquire 78 profitable stores out of a total of 130 locations – for an undisclosed price – and will focus on a new strategy for the entire business.

The bankruptcy receiver of Czech lottery firm Sazka said on Thursday he had accepted debt claims from creditors worth 14.7 billion czech crowns ($859 million), including bonds and a number of bank loans, Reuters reported. Sazka, the largest Czech lottery firm, became insolvent in March after failing to pay back debt it racked up mostly when building a sports arena in Prague in 2004. The recognised claims include Sazka's bonds worth 200 million euros.

A senior International Monetary Fund official said Thursday that debt restructuring would provide no miracle cure for Greece's debt crisis, as a delegation of European and IMF officials continued to pore over the Greek government's finances in Athens, The Wall Street Journal reported. The delegation is in the Greek capital to examine whether the country's tough economic program is still on track and whether its financing plan is sustainable.

Japan's government on Friday unveiled a comprehensive plan to rescue Tokyo Electric Power Co. and fund compensation claims stemming from the country's worst-ever nuclear energy disaster that are expected to total more than ¥2.5 trillion, or roughly $31 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. The approval by the cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan came after last-minute disputes within the ruling party over how heavily the company should be penalized and who in the end would pay the massive costs.

Saab Automobile's future was again cast in doubt Thursday after owner Spyker Cars NV said a EUR150 million ($212.2 million) investment agreement with a Chinese auto maker had fallen apart, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The announcement puts Saab Chairman and Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller under intense pressure to come up with another deal fast. Saab's plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, has been idle since production was halted six weeks ago after suppliers stopped delivering parts because they hadn't been paid.

Executive pay in the banking sector rose faster than other employees’ take home last year helped by a vicious war for talent as competitive intensified in the lending market, raising the compensation bar, industry statistics show, Business Daily Africa reported. Top bankers’ payroll grew by more than 30 per cent in the year buoyed by a rise in the number of managers and intense competition for top talent that required lucrative perks to hire and retain. This helped widen the pay gap between the executives and the rest of staff – especially in the industry’s top players.