Headlines

Canwest Global Communications will tell an Ontario court Friday that it will be forced to shut down the National Post, which has lost $62 million in the last four years, if the newspaper isn't shifted into a company that holds its other dailies, The Canadian Press reported. A hearing is scheduled for the matter on Friday afternoon at the Ontario Superior Court, only hours ahead of a deadline the restructuring media giant suggests could determine the fate of its biggest newspaper by circulation.

Nortel Networks Corp. has received a green light from Canadian bankruptcy courts on the sale of its next-generation packet core network component assets to Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi Ltd. for US$10 million, The Canadian Press reported. The insolvent telecom equipment maker confirmed that the deal was approved without any changes by a bankruptcy court judge in Ontario and by a U.S. court in Delaware.

The Dutch finance ministry on Thursday set out details of its investigation into the collapse of DSB Bank, saying an independent panel will probe both the bank's actions and how government responded, Reuters reported. DSB was seized by the government under emergency measures on Oct. 12 after a run on the bank cost it more than €600 million in deposits. A week later a court declared it bankrupt. Finance Minister Wouter Bos said a panel chaired by Prof. Michiel Scheltema, the former No.

Lord Turner, head of the UK’s Financial Services Authority, said on Thursday that a variety of taxes on banking activity should be on the table as part of global regulatory reform. His remarks earlier this year on a possible “Tobin tax” on financial transactions have attracted interest in Washington as the US undertakes the torrid task of reforming regulation. The chairman of the UK regulator recognised taxes were not perfect and he stopped short of endorsing a specific measure.

DLA Piper has secured a lead role acting on behalf of the creditors of bankrupt former Leyton Orient FC vice-chairman Nicholas Levene, Legal Week reported. The firm's restructuring and insolvency team was instructed earlier this month by Deloitte bankruptcy specialist Louise Brittain, who has acted on a number of high-profile bankruptcy cases. Brittain was appointed as the trustee on the case, which has been branded a 'mini Madoff', with Levene understood to owe a number of creditors.

The company that owns Threshers, the 112-year-old off-licence chain, collapsed into administration last night, putting 6,500 jobs at risk, the Times Online reported. First Quench Retailing, which also owns Wine Rack and The Local chains, brought in the accountants KPMG as administrators last night. KPMG is seeking to sell the company as a going concern. Staff at its 1,300 shops will be informed of the situation this morning. First Quench has been hit by cut-price supermarket competition.

As the special prosecutor appointed to investigate Iceland’s banking crash, it is Olafur Hauksson’s job to discover what role white collar crime may have played in one of the most spectacular episodes of last year’s global credit crunch, the Financial Times reported. Upon his shoulders rest the hopes of angry Icelanders eager to see bankers held accountable for turning their once-prosperous country of 300,000 people into an economic disaster zone. It is a role for which he had almost no experience. As Akranes police chief, his biggest cases were attempted murder and sexual assault.

Iceland's economy minister said on Wednesday funds released from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would go towards a variety of areas, including bolstering the crown, and that the first steps towards relaxing currency controls would happen by the weekend, Reuters reported. Gylfi Magnusson, minister of economic affairs, told a news conference the money would go towards covering Iceland's deficit, repaying loans, stabilising the local currency and strengthening reserves.

The Globe Pub Company is on the brink of being placed into administrative receivership, according to a company source, the Times Online reported. Zolfo Cooper has been lined up as receiver to the Robert Tchenguiz-owned group. An announcement could be made as early as today, the source added. The move could lead to Globe being sold to a new vehicle backed by Heineken, the Dutch brewer, which is understood to be prepared to pay £180 million for its assets. Mr Tchenguiz’s R20 investment group is expected to take a controlling stake in the new business, it was claimed last night.

Yell, the troubled publisher of directories, is extending for a third time a deadline for its lenders to approve a restructuring proposal that would extend the repayment terms on some £800 million of borrowings, the Times Online reported. The company on Tuesday extended the deadline by 24 hours when it failed to secure consensus among the lenders. This morning, Yell said it would make a further extension to 5pm today.