Headlines

Ireland's finance minister warned on Sunday that a rejection of Europe's new fiscal treaty in an Irish referendum next month would not only block access to Europe's new permanent bailout fund, but would also put fresh IMF funds out of reach, Reuters reported. According to the wording of the treaty, a "No" vote would cut Ireland off from additional funding from the European Stability Mechanism should it - as is likely - need additional non-market funding when its 85 billion euro EU/IMF bailout ends next year.

One of the country's largest housing subdivisions has been bought, just over a year after it plunged into receivership, The New Zealand Herald reported. The 250ha Lakes residential community on the western outskirts of Tauranga - which at one time was forecast to have a value of more than $1 billion once completed - has been bought by local developers Carrus Corporation. The price has not been disclosed.

Terra Firma, the private equity group chaired by Guy Hands, is in advanced talks to acquire Four Seasons Health Care in a deal which would value the group’s debt and equity at £825m. The care homes group is seeking to refinance its debt before a September deadline, and a deal could be announced as early as this week, the Financial Times reported. Terra Firma Capital Partners would provide about £300m of equity to Four Seasons, which became the UK’s market leader after the collapse of Southern Cross last year.

Another vital sign for the euro-zone economy took a sudden turn for the worse this month as an economic confidence indicator fell, raising the risk of a prolonged contraction even as government leaders begin poring over formulas for promoting growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, said in its latest sentiment survey that the overall index of economic confidence for April dropped to a reading of 92.8, its lowest level since the end of 2009 from a reading of 94.5 the previous month.

Veteran investor Jack Rodman has had enough. After waiting 11 years for China to sell its rising pile of bad bank loans, he is quitting and going to Spain instead. His pull-out exposes a pressing failing in China's booming financial sector: it does not properly dispose of a growing store of bad loans from banks' profligate lending, keeping risks pent up within the world's second-biggest economy, Reuters reported in an analysis.

The Dutch caretaker government secured a parliamentary majority for its austerity package Thursday evening, after clinching the support of a fifth political party, The Wall Street Journal reported. Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager had been engaged in talks with three left-leaning opposition parties in an effort to reach agreement on the 2013 budget ahead of a key debate in Parliament later in the day and a European Commission deadline next week.

When the euro backstop fund was first created, it was considered a taboo to use the money to directly bail out banks. Now, though, it appears a number of euro-zone countries as well as the European Central Bank are seeking to ease the rules in order to prevent a banking crisis in Spain from forcing the country to request aid from the common currency rescue fund, Spiegel Online reported.

Canada's largest airline Air Canada warned on Thursday that its first-quarter results would be hurt by a C$120 million charge related to the creditor protection filing of its former maintenance unit Aveos, Reuters reported. The airline, struggling for months amid wildcat strikes and a series of feuds with its unions, said it expects to report quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and aircraft rent of between C$170 million and C$180 million.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he will revamp oversight of the country's dominant mortgage insurer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., by handing over day-to-day supervision of its commercial activities to Canada's bank regulator, Dow Jones reported. Under changes outlined in legislation introduced Thursday, the federal finance minister will also obtain legislative and regulatory authority over CMHC's securitization program and any new commercial programs the housing agency wishes to launch.

A major piece of legislation aimed at tackling the State’s personal debt crisis is facing delays of at least two months, the Irish Times has learned. A draft version of the proposed personal insolvency legislation was published in January, with the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter describing it as the “most radical reform of insolvency law since the foundation of the State”. He said the Bill would be finalised and ready by the end of April and he expressed the hope it would become law in the autumn.