Headlines

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet declined to inject new stimulus into the euro zone despite signs of fragility in the currency bloc, further distancing the European Central Bank from other big central banks such as the Federal Reserve that are taking aggressive action to safeguard growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Trichet provided some verbal support to European trouble spots—such as Ireland, Greece and Portugal—that face crippling borrowing costs, saying that despite three weeks without purchases, the ECB's government-bond buying program remains active.

The High Court has ordered the liquidator appointed to building contractor Pierse to investigate the group’s activities over the last 18 months, following concerns raised by a number of its creditors, The Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Peter Kelly appointed Simon Coyle of Mazaars as liquidator to Pierse Contracting and Pierse Building Services after the two companies unexpectedly withdrew their petition for the High Court’s protection from their creditors. CF Structures, to which Pierse owes €5.7 million, and a number of other unsecured creditors, proposed Mr Coyle’s appointment.

The chancellor, George Osborne, came under fire today from MPs on the Treasury select committee, charged with "misleading the public" for claiming the UK was near bankruptcy in the weeks after he took office, The Guardian reported. He was accused of using inflammatory language to justify massive public spending cuts. The committee chairman, Tory MP Andrew Tyrie, said Osborne's claim that Britain had been "on the brink of bankruptcy" was "a bit over the top".

Affiliates of Credit Suisse Group and Willowridge Partners are buying Nortel Networks Corp.'s stakes in 20 venture-capital funds, according to a court filing Thursday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Affiliates of Credit Suisse's alternative-investments group and Willowridge won the bidding for Nortel's venture-capital investments with an offer of nearly $23 million, court papers say. Because the venture-capital interests were already exposed to a competitive sale process, Nortel is asking the U.S.

The Swiss bank that leads a lender group owed $300 million by Tamarack Resort says liquidating the central Idaho vacation getaway is the best way to recoup a fraction of their investment, the Associated Press reported. Credit Suisse Group asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers this week to set the stage for the final sale of Tamarack assets, either under a U.S. trustee or a state court judge's supervision. Tamarack owner Jean-Pierre Boespflug, trying desperately to arrange a sale, said Wednesday he plans to oppose the motion.

Spanish jobless claims continued to spiral higher in October, highlighting a weak recovery for an economy suffering from the collapse of a decade-long construction boom and government efforts to slash a towering budget deficit, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Spanish Labor Ministry said Wednesday that registered jobless claims rose by 68,213, or 1.7%, to nearly 4.09 million in October from September. The ministry doesn't provide unemployment rates. The Spanish Statistics Institute said last week that the average jobless rate was 19.8% in the third quarter.

The receivers of South Canterbury Finance have been appointed to handle the receivership of the Southbury companies, which are associated with Timaru businessman Allan Hubbard, the Otago Daily Times reported. Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol were appointed receivers and managers of Southbury Group Ltd and Southbury Corp Ltd last night. Southbury Group Ltd owns 100 percent of Southbury Corp Ltd, which owns 1 00 percent of South Canterbury Finance. Mr Downey said that the receivership was necessary to gain access to the records and better management control of the group.

Korea’s national debt has increased at a rapid pace, spawning fears that the country could face a debt crisis akin to the one Europe has gone through in the wake of the global financial crisis, The Korea Times reported. What is of greater concern is that the pace of the debt growth is expected to gain momentum as the government must eventually spend more and more due to the rapidly aging population and possible reunification of the two Koreas. With snowballing debt, the ability of the Lee Myung-bak administration to manage the debt is being put into question.

Aer Arann’s future was secured yesterday after Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan agreed in principle to approve a modified scheme of arrangement put forward by the airline’s examiner, The Irish Times reported. This followed an 11th-hour deal between the Revenue Commissioners and Stobart, a British transport and logistics group that proposes to inject €2.5 million into Aer Arann. The Revenue Commissioners will now receive €436,000 that it is owed as a super-preferential creditor within 19 months.

Argentina's national gas regulator, Enargas, has again extended its intervention in Transportadora de Gas del Norte SA, or TGN, one of Argentina's leading gas distribution companies, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The extension will last for another 45 days, according to a statement TGN sent to the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange late Tuesday. Last year TGN said it would restructure $347 million in debt.