Headlines

Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets Wednesday as much of the country went on a 24-hour strike against government austerity measures, The Wall Street Journal reported. Public- and private-sector unions called the strike to protest a range of measures aimed at reducing Greece's budget deficit. The government has announced a freeze on civil-service wages, cuts in public-sector entitlements and the closing of tax loopholes for certain professions, including some civil servants. It has also announced a fuel-tax increase.

Greece set off the crisis rattling the euro zone. Spain could determine whether the 16-nation currency stands or falls, The Wall Street Journal reported. The euro zone's No. 4 economy, Spain has an unemployment rate of 19%, a deflating housing bubble, big debts and a gaping budget deficit. Its gross domestic product contracted 3.6% in 2009 and is expected to shrink again this year, leaving Spain in its deepest and longest recession in a half-century. The problem is that, thanks largely to its membership in the euro, Spain lacks tried-and-true means to heal its economy.

The bankruptcy of a European Union nation or an exit from the euro would be the end of the euro region, Carl Heinz Daube, head of Germany’s debt agency, told a conference organized by Euromoney in London, Bloomberg reported. German government bond yields are likely to stay within a range in 2010, he said. Germany has a “clear picture” of how to bring down the country’s deficit, he said. Read more.

British Seafood, the fish importer and distributor part-owned by 3i Group (III.L), has gone into administration, wiping out gains made by the private equity firm's sale of healthcare company Ambea, Reuters reported. Tough conditions in financial markets have caused some banks to withdraw trade credit, choking the supply of working capital necessary for businesses like British Seafood. "It was a growing business and a good business," said a spokesperson for 3i, which bought a 28.5 percent stake in British Seafood in December 2007.

General Growth Properties Inc on Wednesday unveiled a bankruptcy exit plan bankrolled by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management that would split it in two, as suitors circled the second largest U.S. mall owner, Reuters reported. General Growth signed non-disclosure agreements with Simon Property Group, the largest U.S. mall owner, and Australia's Westfield Group, which would give them access to information about its business, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move is usually a precursor to possible bids.

A Gatineau newsprint mill followed its owner into bankruptcy protection Wednesday, the latest victim of hard times in the newspaper industry, The Ottawa Citizen reported. Papier Masson is one of three mills in Quebec and another in Virginia affected by the decision of White Birch Paper, the parent company, to seek protection from creditor suits in the U.S. and Canada. The Papier Masson mill, formerly owned by James Maclaren Industries and Noranda, had 195 employees when White Birch bought it in 2005.

Royal Bank of Scotland faced renewed criticism over its decision to hand out £1.3 billion of bonuses to its investment bankers this morning as the state-controlled bank reported a loss of £3.6 billion, The Guardian reported. Stephen Hester, the chief executive who has waived his £1.6m bonus, warned that "2010 will be a year of hard slog" as he battles to restore the bank, which is supported by up to £54 billion of taxpayers' money, to profitability.

Canadian property giant Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is readying a bid to take a large ownership stake in U.S. mall owner General Growth Properties Inc., according to several people familiar with the matter, aiming to top an unsolicited $10 billion bid made last week by rival mall owner Simon Property Group Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported. Brookfield's planned bid, which could be unveiled as soon as this week, would allow General Growth, to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings as a standalone company, with Brookfield as its largest shareholder, these people say.

Workers at General Motors Co.'s European arm, Adam Opel GmbH, produced a list of demands Tuesday for managers, aimed at minimizing job losses as the business undergoes a mammoth restructuring, Dow Jones reported. Members of the European Metalworkers' Federation and affiliated unions in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and the U.K. gathered in Brussels to coordinate a response to measures drawn up by management to reduce a crippling overcapacity. Leading German trade unionist Klaus Franz complained at a lack of communication from GM. "There have been no discussions," he said.

Some of the biggest creditors to the landlords of stricken German department store chain Karstadt are set to approve a landmark debt restructuring plan that could make it appealing to a white knight buyer, Reuters reported. Sources close to the situation said more than 75 percent of noteholders in the 1.2 billion pound Fleet Street 2 Commercial Mortgage Backed Securitisation (CMBS) will agree emergency measures to protect the value of their bonds, boosting Karstadt's survival prospects. If the plan is agreed as seen, this will be one of the largest CMBS restructurings of its kind.