Headlines

An Australian court has ruled that local governments can pursue financial claims against collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in Australia and elsewhere, a firm that is funding the litigation said on Monday, Reuters reported. IMF (Australia) Ltd said the Federal Court ruled on Friday in favour of town councils and others which had lost money in collateralised debt obligations marketed and issued by Lehman, opening the door to legal claims to recover their losses.

The country's biggest forestry sales have to be finalised this week as the administrators of failed agribusiness schemes Timbercorp and Great Southern battle to find fresh funds to cover running costs and rental payments due on Thursday, The Australian reported. Timbercorp liquidator KordaMentha, which has a preferred bidder to buy the forestry assets, has been working to get a deal signed before $9 million is due to be paid to landlords on October 1.

Koenigsegg's chief executive said on Saturday the Swedish luxury sports car maker still aimed to finalize a deal to buy Saab Automobile from General Motors by the end of October, Reuters reported. Koenigsegg Chief Executive and part owner Christian von Koenigsegg also told Reuters that there was good progress in talks to secure Swedish state guarantees for billions of crowns of loans from the European Investment Bank.

The Italian fashion house Ferré put on a fashion show Friday as its owner, IT Holding SpA, is seeking buyers to take it out of bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal’s Bankruptcy Beat blog reported. IT Holding filed for bankruptcy protection in Italy in February after failing to service more than $400 million in debt and make royalty payments to its designers, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Government administrators have since taken the company’s reins. Despite the struggles of its parent, Ferré has pledged to reinvent itself.

We are still a long way away from dealing with the underlying causes of the crisis in an effective manner, but at least there is now an official recognition that the crisis is not just about financial regulation and supervision, but that it has deeper roots in global macroeconomic policy, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. Why do we need such an agenda? The reason is that large and persistent imbalances drive ever larger capital flows, which can destabilise the global economy.

Receivers have been appointed to manage seven trophy London office buildings owned by billionaire Simon Halabi, real estate company CB Richard Ellis said on Friday, Reuters reported. The buildings are part of a portfolio of assets that back a 1.15 billion pound ($1.84 billion) securitisation which has gone sour after the value of the underlying assets collapsed. CBRE is the "special servicer" of the securitisation seeking to maximise returns to bondholders. The properties include a landmark City of London building occupied by insurer Aviva Plc.

Spain's government on Saturday agreed a 2010 budget, which includes tax rises to cover increases in government spending as Spain fights a recession after a huge housing boom, Finfacts reported. The government said in a statement that it now forecasts a total 2010 budget deficit equal to 8.1% of GDP (gross domestic product), compared to 8.4% previously and the Euro 3% Growth and Stability Pact.

Former Storm Financial managing director Emmanuel Cassimatis has told a Brisbane court that the company was developing a way to identify clients going into margin call when the market nosedived late last year, The Australian reported. Storm went into receivership earlier this year with one of the main complaints of its 14,000 clients that they failed to receive margin calls telling them their Storm Financial portfolios were in trouble.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will fund an investigation into the failed whitegoods company Kleenmaid, ABC News reported. The company, which is based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, went into voluntary administration in April. The investigation will focus on whether the company was trading while insolvent. Joint liquidator Richard Hughes says the company now has debts of more than $100 million. The liquidator's preliminary report found evidence the company may have been trading while insolvent as early as June 2007, if not before.

Indebted Russian magnate Oleg Deripaska's aluminium company said on Thursday it repaid debts worth $85.9 million to Alfa-Bank after the private lender threatened to pursue the bankruptcy of two RUSAL units, Reuters reported. UC RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer, said in a statement it had spoken to its major creditors and agreed to pay the money to Alfa-Bank to soothe a long-running feud over debts between Deripaska and Alfa's principal owner, Mikhail Fridman. Read more.