Headlines

Two AbitibiBowater Inc. bondholders are asking that their disputed $620.1 million claim be temporarily reclassified in the company's Chapter 11 case so that they can participate in the paper maker's debt-rights offering, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Aurelius Capital Management LP and Contrarian Capital Management LLC said in papers filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., that AbitibiBowater's proposed Chapter 11 plan is designed to block them from buying debt in the reorganized company that is convertible to stock at a discounted price.

Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick is to ask the High Court to declare him bankrupt on Monday after he told the court the bank has blocked a proposed settlement deal with his creditors, The Irish Times reported. Mark Sanfey SC, counsel for Mr FitzPatrick, told the court today his client wanted to petition the court to be adjudicated bankrupt.

Bankrupt German aluminum maker Almatis BV is considering a new refinancing proposal from its owner Dubai International Capital LLC, but Almatis senior debtholder Oaktree Capital Management urged the judge to stick to the original reorganization plan, Reuters reported. In a letter dated Wednesday to Judge Martin Glenn, who is overseeing the case, Almatis' attorney said he had received a proposal from Dubai International Capital, or DIC, to pay off the company's senior debt in full.

The Spanish government will approve Friday an overhaul of savings-bank regulations, opening the door to private ownership of the mutually owned savings banks or "cajas," Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported. "This is the most important reform ever of our banking system," Mr. Zapatero said at a meeting with journalists. With close ties to local communities and often controlled by local governments, Spain's cajas have borne the brunt of the collapse of Spain's decade-long housing boom.

The Morrison Hotel on Ormond Quay, Dublin, is to be run by a provisional liquidator after the hotel's operating company withdrew its defence against a claim by the receiver for €5.7 million in unpaid rent, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Mr Justice Brian McGovern entered the judgement against the Morrison Hotel Ltd in the High Court and appointed a liquidator to the firm on the grounds that it was unable to repay the debt.

North South Finance has joined its parent company Dominion Finance in receivership, following Securities Commission charges against its directors, The National Business Review reported. North South’s trustee Covenant today appointed Grant Graham and Brendon Gibson of KordaMentha as receivers, ending a moratorium agreed by investors in December 2008. The company has to date paid back about $54 million (or 55.5 cents in the dollar) of the $102 million owed to investors. North South’s moratorium proposal was approved by an 83% majority.

A group of bondholders representing the debt of insolvent German retailer Karstadt's properties has called a special meeting in London for July 28 to discuss some of the terms of the takeover offer for Karstadt proposed by billionaire investor Nicholas Berggruen, according to a notice from the group reviewed by Dow Jones.

Lawyers for the creditors and the receivers they appointed to companies owned by the Crafar family will be in the High Court at Auckland tomorrow morning to fight a bid by the family to delay the sale of the family's farms, the New Zealand Press Association reported. The Crafar family made an 11th-hour application to the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday night in a chambers hearing to temporarily halt the sale of 13 dairy and three-dry-stock farms, covered by the receivership.

The European Parliament agreed to what officials described as the world's strictest rules on bankers' bonuses, capping big cash awards across the European Union in time for 2010 payouts, The Wall Street Journal reported. The new law, agreed upon Wednesday, will limit upfront cash to 30% of a banker's total bonus and to 20% in the case of very large bonuses. Between 40% to 60% of bonuses will have to be deferred for at least three years and can be clawed back if the recipient's investments perform badly.

Halliwells has filed a second notice of intention to appoint an administrator in a bid to buy more time to secure a sale of the firm without entering into administration, Legal Week reported. The notice was filed 7 July which will allow the firm until 20 July to conclude any potential deals with other firms. The notice will provide a moratorium on Halliwells' liabilities.