Headlines

Software company UIQ, jointly owned by Sony Ericsson and Motorola, has filed for bankruptcy in a district court in Sweden, the company's top executive said on Monday. The software developer, which is based in Sweden, began cutting staff six months ago after its owners decided to merge its software with the Symbian platform. World number one mobile handset maker Nokia last month finalised its acquisition of Symbian and has pledged to make the software available free of charge.

Japan's Sony Corp is likely to announce closures of Japanese factories and major divisions early next month, the Times of London said on Monday, but the company denied any such plan existed. The maker of Bravia flat TVs and PlayStation video game consoles faces halting sales and mounting piles of inventory in the wake of the financial crisis, even as a stronger yen bites into earnings.

Iceland's state-run Kaupthing bank will sue the British government for its decision to force the bank's British subsidiary into a form of bankruptcy, the Icelandic Prime Minister's office said Tuesday. The committee appointed to run Kaupthing, which collapsed last autumn, is taking Britain to court because it forced the unit Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander into administration at the height of Iceland's financial crisis, according to the prime minister's press secretary, the Associated Press reported.

Toyota Motor Corp is to halt production at its Japanese plants for 11 days in February and March as a sharp slide in U.S. sales has left dealers' lots full of unsold cars, Reuters reported. A 37 percent slump in December sales in Toyota's biggest market was its sharpest fall in more than a quarter of a century and worse than declines at struggling U.S. rivals General Motors and Ford Motor. Toyota had already announced a three-day production halt for this month at its 12 directly operated Japanese plants--four car assembly plants and eight for engines, transmissions and other components.

LyondellBasell's bondholders were yesterday braced for large losses after it emerged the world's third largest petrochemicals company was on the brink of bankruptcy, the Financial Times reported. LyondellBasell, buckling under the weight of $26 billion in debt and slumping demand for its products, said it was working with its banks, including Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS, to restructure "as quickly as we can". Lenders had set a deadline for an agreement last Sunday but talks appear to be continuing even after a deal was not reached on time.

Talks to salvage Waterford Wedgwood were under way with at least three US parties on Monday night after the owner of the historic crystal and porcelain brands was forced into receivership, the Financial Times reported. Lenders, led by Bank of America, called in their loans to the company, which can trace its roots back to 1759, after talks with a US private equity investor collapsed at the weekend.

The quickening pace of Russia's rouble devaluation is piling pressure on the currencies of its neighbours and putting those without Moscow's sizeable reserves at risk of foreign debt default and further capital flight, Forbes reported. Investors are shying away from currencies such as Ukraine's hryvnia as the world economic slowdown crushes demand for its exports, global risk aversion shines a harsh light on Kiev's turbulent politics and Russia demonstrates its stranglehold on the country's energy supplies.

The Irish economy, pummeled by the most severe housing bust in Europe, has collapsed, The New York Times reported. Everything, it seems, has grown worse here. The recession started earlier and its bite has been deeper. Housing prices have fallen by as much as 50 percent. Bank shares have plummeted by more than 90 percent. Unemployment is approaching 10 percent. Government policy that chopped taxes in half, sharply reduced import duties and embraced foreign investment gave birth to the Celtic Tiger, perhaps the most open and vibrant economy in Europe.

Waterford Wedgwood Plc received protection from creditors after losing money for five years and failing to find a buyer, threatening an Irish crystal-making heritage that dates back to 1759, Bloomberg reported. As many as 1,900 Irish and British jobs may be at risk if no buyer emerges. Deloitte Ireland was appointed as receiver for the company and some local units, Dublin-based Waterford said today in a statement. Its shares were suspended in Dublin.

Australian insolvencies and company administrations, which rose by about a third the past 12 months, may increase this year, the Australian Financial Review reported. Insolvency appointments in October rose to 1296 compared with 1018 a year earlier, the newspaper said, citing Australian Securities and Investment Commission figures. The number of companies appointing external administrators jumped to 847 from 633, it said. Numbers may peak in February or March, the newspaper said.