Headlines

As Britain continues to haul itself out of recession, the number of companies entering liquidation in the UK dropped by almost 20 per cent in the first half of 2010, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Figures released by the UK's Insolvency Service last week revealed that a total of 8,140 companies collapsed in England and Wales between January and June of this year, compared to 10,005 in the same period last year – a drop of 19%. Of these figures, 2,467 were compulsory liquidations while 5,673 were creditors' voluntary liquidations.

Greece's recession deepened in the second quarter, according to official estimates released Thursday, as the country felt the painful consequences of the government's drive to reduce its debt load with aggressive austerity cuts, the Associated Press reported. Gross domestic product declined by 1.5 percent from the previous quarter as the government reduced spending. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to 12 percent in May from 11.9 percent, the statistics agency said.

An Italian labor union said it may appeal a Rome court ruling to declare ferry operator Tirrenia di Navigazione SpA insolvent and will fight against the state-owned company’s breakup, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. “We fear that after the insolvency, Tirrenia will be broken up into many companies, hurting its service and workforce,” Giuseppe Caronia, general secretary of the Uil Trasporti union, said. “We have nothing against the company’s sale in one piece to investors willing to keep the jobs and a state stake.” Uil Trasporti has called a strike on Aug.

Bondholders who own the debt of insolvent German retailer Karstadt's properties have called another special meeting in London on Sept. 2 to discuss some of the terms of billionaire investor Nicholas Berggruen's takeover offer, according to a notice from the group reviewed by Dow Jones. The bondholder group, which represents senior class A noteholders in the Fleet Street Finance Two PLC securitization, has called the meeting ahead of an Essen court deadline to reach an agreement with Berggruen over his takeover plan by midnight Sept. 2.

Chameleon Mining has been placed into the hands of a receiver amid a stoush with the funders of a multi-million-dollar court case, The Australian reported. The company, which emerged from a previous spell in administration three years ago, is suing Murchison Metals in the Federal Court for access to its lucrative Jack Hills iron ore project, claiming the asset was purchased with Chameleon's funds several years earlier.

Clothing retailer Ed Hardy's Australian operations have been placed into voluntary administration after suffering from a slowdown in sales, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Deloitte partners Simon Wallace-Smith and Tim Norman were appointed administrators to Ed Hardy Operations Ltd and Ed Hardy Pty Ltd, financial adviser Deloitte said. Ed Hardy sells street wear in its stores in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Mr Wallace-Smith said Ed Hardy's Australian operations had suffered from a slowdown in sales.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s biggest maker of sport-utility vehicles, is the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean automaker said today, Bloomberg reported. Ssangyong, operating under bankruptcy protection, plans to sign a preliminary agreement with Mahindra by the end of August and aims to sign a contract for the sale in November, it said in a statement to the Korea Exchange. The company will begin talks with Indian rolling stock maker Raghav Industries Ltd.

Youth unemployment across the world has climbed to a new high and is likely to climb further this year, a United Nations agency said Thursday, while warning of a “lost generation” as more young people give up the search for work, The New York Times reported. The agency, the International Labor Organization, said in a report that of some 620 million young people ages 15 to 24 in the work force, about 81 million were unemployed at the end of 2009 — the highest level in two decades of record-keeping by the organization, which is based in Geneva.

McInerney Holdings, one of the country's oldest house builders, is fighting for survival this week as it aims to strike a deal which would restructure its €236 million debt pile, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. The company is the latest in a long line of construction firms to be hit by the slump in property prices and the collapse in construction activity. At latest count, construction firms accounted for one in three insolvencies in Ireland.

The main unit of Mexicana said Wednesday that it had resumed ticket sales as it faces a showdown next week with creditors seeking to retrieve their aircraft from the Mexican airline, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. A senior executive said Compania Mexicana de Aviacion restarted sales online and through ticket offices. Adolfo Crespo, senior vice president of customer service and corporate communications, said it would resume indirect sales through travel agencies, initially via those connected to the Amadeus booking system.