Headlines

Bernard Callebaut launched his newest enterprise with chocolate and moulds "stolen" from his former business, a move the current owners believe should be punished with a $100,000 fine, the Calgary Herald reported. But while those now in charge of Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, the company bought out of receivership last fall, believe Callebaut used their property to start a competing business, Callebaut himself sees the current court proceedings as a way to thwart his efforts to start again.

A sale of the British taxpayer’s 65.8 billion-pound ($107 billion) stake in Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) is likely to start next year, creating a one-time budget windfall before the next election, according to four people familiar with the talks, Bloomberg reported. Lloyds, 41 percent government-owned, will probably be offered to investors first as the London-based bank is better prepared for a sale, said the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private and the plans may change.

Dubai's government says struggling state conglomerate Dubai World has signed a final agreement with creditors to restructure billions of dollars in debt, Bloomberg Businessweek reported on an Associated Press story. The emirate's media office announced the signing of the deal involving about 80 creditors Wednesday. It formalizes a tentative agreement reached last year. Dubai World secured full creditor support for its $24.9 billion debt restructuring plan in October.

Czech lottery firm Sazka will likely file for reorganisation following pressure for insolvency proceedings by creditors, Chief Executive Ales Husak said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. He said he would file the proposal if a court decides on Friday against a plan to provide loans from financial partners. He said he did not expect bankruptcy. The company had delayed a payment on its 2021 amortising bond in January and lost its rating from Standard and Poor's. It made the payment later. Several creditors have filed for the firm's insolvency.

Britain's Treasury Chief George Osborne delivered a largely business-friendly budget that aimed to dull the pain of belt-tightening and high inflation rates, after already having set the U.K. on a course of aggressive deficit cutting, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Osborne also announced Wednesday a series of measures to lift economic growth, which he said would be slower than expected when he began the deficit-reduction course—among the most aggressive of the major economies. The economic pain for Britons is about to increase, regardless of the budget Mr. Osborne unveiled.

Portugal’s borrowing costs climbed to a record Thursday, a day after the collapse of the government in Lisbon raised expectations that the country would be forced to seek an international bailout, the International Herald Tribune reported. The prime minister José Sócrates offered his resignation late Wednesday after his minority Socialist government failed to win parliamentary backing for its latest package of austerity measures, which were designed to bring down the country’s high budget deficit.

Frank Daly, the chairman of the State's toxic property loans agency, the National Asset Management Agency, has warned that enforcement action is likely to be taken against more of the largest debtors of the agency “as some debtors are making little effort to progress matters and have not yet adapted to the new realities,” Finfacts reported. He confirmed that the NAMA had now completed its review of the business plans of the 30 largest debtors - - accounting for some €27bn of the loans acquired by the agency [approx 40% of total].

Struggling British retailer JJB Sports avoided collapsing into administration for the second time in two years, agreeing a restructuring with landlords who will forfeit millions of pounds of rent, Reuters reported. Unsecured creditors of the Wigan, northwest England-based sportswear retailer, which has America's richest man Bill Gates as a 5 percent shareholder, backed its proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA) at a meeting on Tuesday. The arrangement was later backed by the owners of a majority of the company's shares.

The future of Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates hangs in the balance, as the outcome of an austerity vote could lead to his resignation and push the government closer to a financial bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. Legislators will vote Wednesday on a series of new austerity measures unveiled earlier this month by the government, which said the plan is needed to cut the budget deficit and regain the confidence of bond investors. The main opposition parties plan to vote against those measures. Mr.

Brazil's Central Bank President Alexandre Tombini said on Tuesday that default rates on loans are rising, Reuters reported. Tombini, speaking at a congressional hearing, did not give further details. Consumer credit has risen rapidly in Brazil in recent years, fueling an economic boom, but some analysts have voiced concern that default rates could rise this year as the economy cools and interest rates rise. Read more.