Headlines

Marathon negotiations to overhaul Spain's rigid labor market collapsed on Thursday, raising the prospect of a tug-of-war between the government and trade unions in the troubled euro zone state, Reuters reported. The head of the World Bank meanwhile cast doubt on Europe's ability to surmount a sovereign debt crisis without restructuring liabilities of heavily indebted countries such as Greece -- a step euro zone leaders are refusing to contemplate.

TNK-BP Ltd., BP PLC's Russian venture, hopes a recent bankruptcy filing at a Siberian gas venture will speed up the government's takeover of the project, allowing TNK-BP to recover at least some of the roughly $900 million it invested there, interim Chief Executive Mikhail Fridman said Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. Under pressure from regulators, TNK-BP agreed to sell its controlling stake in the huge Kovykta field to state gas giant OAO Gazprom back in 2007. But Gazprom never closed the deal and executives say publicly the company doesn't need Kovykta's huge reserves.

Germany said it wouldn't provide General Motors Co. loan guarantees of more than €1 billion, or $1.19 billion, to help restructure its troubled Adam Opel GmbH unit, but Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to leave the door open for some form of aid, saying "the last word has not been spoken," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Mexican home-finance company Metrofinanciera SA said Wednesday that a court has approved its pre-packaged bankruptcy plan after it defaulted on debt early last year, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. "In the coming days, Metrofinanciera will start the process to exchange securities in the period and terms outlined in the bankruptcy agreement, giving way to the creation of a new shareholder structure," the lender said in a filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange.

The Netherlands, home of the "Dutch model" welfare economy, is set to become the next European country to move toward fiscal conservatism in the wake of general elections Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. Fears over the budget deficit have eclipsed concerns about immigration and the growing reach of Islam, after a series of warnings from domestic economists and the European Union about a looming debt problem. For decades, the Dutch government has been led by either the Christian Democrats or the Socialists.

A Marlborough contract grape grower has gone into receivership, The Marlborough Express reported. Awatere Vineyard Estates Ltd and Awatere Vineyard Holdings Ltd was put into receivership at the beginning of the month. The company owned 299 hectares of land, with 128 hectares planted with sauvignon blanc and a small amount of pinot gris. Chartered accountants William Black and Andrew Grenfell of McGrathNicol Auckland were appointed receivers and managers of both companies.

Canwest Global Communications Inc., the Canadian media company in bankruptcy protection, agreed to pay as much as C$7.5 million ($7.1 million) to settle a group suit by freelance writers who claimed republication of their work on the Internet broke copyright laws, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. Because the company is in bankruptcy protection, the writers will be allowed to file a claim for the settlement amount and share in the distribution to creditors, either in cash or shares of a new company, said Peter Osborne, lawyer for Canwest’s management directors.

Spurred on by government incentives and bargain-basement prices, the Chinese are planning to pump hundreds of millions -- perhaps billions -- of euros into Greece even as other investors run the other way, The Washington Post reported. The cornerstone of those plans is the transformation of the Mediterranean port of Piraeus into the Rotterdam of the south, creating a modern gateway linking Chinese factories with consumers across Europe and North Africa.

Two noteholders are protesting AbitibiBowater Inc.'s bid to hold a rights offering, saying the move is unnecessary and could actually be detrimental to the newsprint manufacturer and its creditors, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Aurelius Capital Management and Contrarian Capital Management LLC - as well as Wilmington Trust Co., which serves as the indenture trustee of the notes - are objecting to the company's request to auction off the rights to fund its exit from bankruptcy. In papers filed Monday with the U.S.

Spain's public-sector workers went on strike Tuesday in what could be a run-up to a full general strike in response to recent spending cuts the government has announced to reduce Spain's budget deficit, The Wall Street Journal reported. The strike is a challenge against austerity measures worth a total of €15 billion ($17.88 billion) this year and next, including a 5% cut in public-sector wages this year and a freeze in pensions next year.