Headlines

The financial fate of struggling Auckland developer David Henderson hangs in the balance, after creditors voted for his repayment scheme yesterday, The New Zealand Herald reported. Bankruptcy proceedings before Associate Judge Doogue could go to the High Court at Auckland around 10am Tuesday but Daniel Grove, Henderson's barrister, said nothing was certain. Creditors agreed narrowly yesterday to Henderson's $1.5 million repayment of $127 million claims and now Grove will seek court approval of that scheme. "The creditors voting is only the first step.

Three European asset management firms accused banks including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Bank Plc, Citibank NA and Credit Suisse Group AG of conspiring to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, Bloomberg reported. The banks sold Libor-based futures, options, swaps and derivative instruments “at artificial prices that defendants caused,” harming investors, FTC Capital GmbH of Vienna, FTC Futures Fund SICAV of Luxembourg and FTC Futures Fund PCC Ltd. of Gibraltar said in an April 15 complaint in New York federal court.

A euroskeptic party was in the thick of a tight four-way race after voting concluded in Finland's national election Sunday, raising the chance that it could enter government and disrupt the euro zone's program of bailouts for the bloc's deeply indebted countries, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to exit polls Sunday evening, the nationalist True Finns party, led by Timo Soini, was in third place with 18.7% of the vote. The conservative party of current Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen was in the lead, with 20.2%, according to public broadcaster YLE. Mr.

In another blow to creditors, Dongyang Engineering and Construction Corp. filed for court receivership at Seoul Central District Court yesterday, underscoring the debt problems created by construction-related financing loans, the JoongAng Daily reported. The midsize builder cooperated with Sambu Construction, which also recently filed for court receivership, in building luxury villas in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul. “I can’t believe how entangled the situation is,” said a Financial Supervisory Service official.

As the United States and Europe struggle to get their economies rolling again, China is having the opposite problem: figuring out how to keep its revved-up growth engine from generating runaway inflation, the International Herald Tribune reported. The latest sign that things were moving too fast came on Sunday, when China’s central bank ordered the biggest banks to set aside more cash reserves. The move essentially reduces the amount of money available for loans, and is an attempt to cool down the economy.

Two of the biggest bondholders of insolvent Czech betting company Sazka have asked for an early repayment of its bonds due in 2021 worth a nominal 203 million euros ($292 million), their representatives said on Friday, Reuters reported. Sazka, the biggest lottery operator in the Czech market, was declared insolvent last month and a court appointed a preliminary creditors' committee.

Ireland’s Supreme Court last week ruled that the legislation governing the National Asset Management Agency was constitutional. In the appeal to the Supreme Court, developer Paddy McKillen challenged the legislation underpinning the state body. The court did not agree that the definition of eligible bank loans in the NAMA legislation was too broad and was unconstitutional, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Despite losing his appeal on the issue of the Constitutionality of the 2009 Act, Mr. McKillan did succeed on the issue of fair procedures.

Struggling Auckland developer David Stewart Henderson just won the right to repay creditors in a partial deal which sees him avoid bankruptcy, The New Zealand Herald reported. Attempts by other developers to strike compromise deals have failed but the ex-Victoria Parks Markets owner succeeded by just .6 per cent. The Princes Wharf developer has claims against him of about $105 million and is offering to repay a pitiful $1.5 million in tranches of about $500,000 gradually. An Australian bank, Inland Revenue and Downer Construction are all chasing him for long outstanding payments.

Saab Automobile's attempts to solve its acute liquidity crisis so that it can pay suppliers and restart production now lie in the hands of the Swedish government, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Sweden's National Debt Office Thursday received Saab's proposal to fix its immediate and mid-term financial issues and forwarded it--along with a recommendation--to the government to make a final decision.

Madrid has been forced to make an embarrassing clarification after claims that Spain had secured from China up to €9bn in investment in its troubled savings banks were denied by Beijing, the Financial Times reported. Spanish officials said an “error of communication” had led to reports that China Investment Corporation – one of the country’s sovereign wealth funds – was considering a €9bn investment after José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s prime minister, met Chinese leaders this week. A CIC official told Reuters that reports in the Spanish media of the investment were false.