Headlines

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has pleaded with his country's citizens to back a joint EU-IMF bail out for Greece worth up to €45bn (£40bn), warning that failure to act risks a financial meltdown, Telegraph.co.uk reported. "We cannot allow the bankruptcy of a euro member state like Greece to turn into a second Lehman Brothers," he told Der Spiegel. "Greece's debts are all in euros, but it isn't clear who holds how much of those debts. The consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank," he said.

In a world where the unthinkable has become thinkable, markets are now gearing up for an event many had not previously been factored into the realms of possibility, the Financial Times reported. Even as Greek bail-out discussions continue – talks between representatives of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF were delayed on Monday by the volcanic ash cloud – market watchers are starting to question whether, in the long term, Greece can avoid a restructuring of its debts or even an outright default.

National carrier Philippine Airlines, which has bled more than P15 billion ($337.6 million) in the past two fiscal years, is spinning-off its three non-core units as a last resort to avoid bankruptcy, Philstar.com reported. PAL will spin off the following units: in-flight catering services; airport services, including ground handling, cargo handling and ramp handling; and call center reservations by end of May. The move will enable PAL to save as much as P1 billion ($22.5 million) a year, PAL President and COO Jaime Bautista said in a press briefing today.

Real estate company Hansteen Holdings has agreed to buy 61 properties from a trio of distressed investors for around 80 million pounds ($124 million) as the frequency of firesales in Britain's indebted property market picks up, Reuters reported. The multi-sector portfolio was bought from receivers acting for various subsidiaries of collapsed property firms Kilmartin Holdings Limited and Kilmartin Group Limited and administrators of Annfield Assets Limited. Some 42 of the 61 properties are in Scotland, 18 in England and one property is in Northern Ireland.

Integral Energy and the Australian Energy Market Operator could face legal action over their role in the collapse of the renewable energy company Jackgreen, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Jackgreen, which was Australia's largest specialist renewable retailer, went into voluntary administration in December after it failed to pay a $500,000 bill to the NSW government-owned Integral Energy. At the time, the company claimed it was squeezed out of business by its bigger rival, which acquired most of its customers soon after the corporate paramedics were appointed.

Davie Yards Inc. has halted work on the first and most advanced of five offshore oil supply ships ordered by international customers, and on Monday a further 100 workers will be laid off at its Lévis facilities opposite Quebec City, The Montreal Gazette reported. Davie was given protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act on Feb. 24 after it ran out of cash and began a second restructuring program. It said almost 1,600 employees would be laid off, leaving about 160 working to complete the first vessel and on engineering and planning.

The cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt against default surged to the highest-ever based on closing prices after the travel disruption caused by Iceland’s volcano delayed talks to help resolve the country’s debt crisis, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. European Union and International Monetary Fund officials are scheduled to travel to Athens on April 21 to start negotiating conditions for a €45 billion ($61 billion) bailout package for the country.

As the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund prepare a lending package to rescue Greece from financial crisis, recent history provides both an inspirational story and a cautionary tale, the Financial Times reported. The inspirational story is Brazil, where a $30 billion IMF package in 2002 allied to a plan for fiscal stringency helped restore confidence in the government's debt.

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions in March rose 38.1 percent from February, but were down 50.1 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. Petitions totalled 935 in March, down from a high of 1,872 a year earlier when the economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Hong Kong pulled out of recession in the second quarter of last year. The notice gave no explanation for the month-on-month increase. Read more.

Leighton Holdings Ltd. said Monday it and Deutsche Bank were no longer in the bidding for Sydney's troubled Lane Cove Tunnel, Dow Jones reported. "I can confirm we have withdrawn from Lane Cove," a Leighton spokesman said, declining to give reasons for the decision. Leighton Contractors and Deutsche Bank were among the bidders for the 3.6-kilometer, twin-tunnel highway in Sydney's northern suburbs, which was put up for sale earlier this year after the company that owned it was pushed into receivership due to heavy debts and its unpopularity with motorists.