Headlines

Continental AG, the big German tire maker, is trying to restructure its bank loans to avert a possible default, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported. Continental is in preliminary talks with its bankers because it could breach terms of loans it took on in the €11 billion ($14.33 billion) acquisition of Siemens AG's VDO auto-electronics business last year, the people said. Continental's earnings, hit by a sharp decline in global auto demand, could fall below a level stipulated in the loan agreement as early as March, one of the people said.

The 7,000 secured investors owed $171 million by Nathans Finance, which collapsed 16 months ago, might get their first repayment for Christmas, but it could be as little as 2.5 cents in the dollar, BusinessDay reported. Most of the money invested in Nathans was loaned to its parent company VTL, which was involved in development of several international vending machine businesses. VTL is now also in receivership.

The fees likely to be charged by administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers for its efforts during Strategic Finance's five-year moratorium have gone down like a lead balloon with investors, The Dominion Post reported. An investor briefing roadshow outlining Strategic Finance's planned rescue package kicked off in Auckland yesterday with the complexity and vague nature of PwC's appraisal report prompting concerns among creditors.

Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday backed severe restrictions on public spending and a government-wide hiring freeze to help the economy survive the global financial turmoil, the Associated Press reported. As the Ukrainian currency hit a new low, parliament gave tentative approval to legislation that would limit spending on renovating government buildings, purchases of automobiles and other public expenses. The law would be the latest in a series of measures to battle the crisis.

German brake pads maker TMD Friction, which has filed for insolvency for four German plants, has attracted the interest of possible buyers, a spokesman for the company's insolvency administrator said. Among the possible buyers are both industry-related companies and financial investors, Reuters reported. A spokesman said the company aims to keep the group intact in a possible sale. The Leverkusen-based group employs around 4,500 staff in 11 countries and generated 2007 sales of 690 million euros ($892.4 million). It has 2,000 staff in Germany alone.

The C$34.8 billion ($27.8 billion) buyout of Canada's biggest telecoms company BCE Inc collapsed on Thursday after the buyers said a key condition to the deal was not met, Reuters reported. The derailment was widely expected after BCE said late last month that its accountants, KPMG, had said that the company that would emerge from the deal would fail a solvency test because of its huge debt load.

Nortel Networks Corp.'s contemplation of a bankruptcy filing comes after years of strategic missteps, accounting scandals and failed restructurings that have reduced the company, once one of Canada's flagships, to a shadow of its former self, The Wall Street Journal reported. Nortel once boasted a stratospheric market value of $250 billion, when speculators overestimated demand for fiber-optic networks to carry Internet and video traffic around the world. That bubble burst in 2000, and Nortel has spent the better part of a decade trying, unsuccessfully, to get back on its feet.

U.S. media group Tribune has arranged an untraditional financing deal with Barclays Capital, involving about $350 million in debt agreements, to fund operations during its reorganization, Reuters reported. Unlike a typical debtor-in-possession bankruptcy loan, the company is seeking court approval of a $50 million letter of credit from Barclays, according to court documents filed late Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Tribune also wants approval to continue using a $300 million trade receivables facility it entered into with Barclays in July.

Prospects for rescuing ailing British retailer Woolworths receded as the company's administrator said Wednesday it had not yet found a buyer and was launching a closing-down sale, the Associated Press reported. Deloitte said Woolworths PLC would try to clear as much merchandise as possible before Christmas, adding that store closings were only days away unless a buyer could be found for the troubled business. Deloitte, which was appointed to run Woolworths last month after the retailer went under, said it was still trying to translate interest in the company's operations into a hard offer.

Troubled German lender Hypo Real Estate Group said Tuesday it had requested an additional 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion) in loan guarantees from the federal government's financial bailout package to weather the credit crunch, the Associated Press reported. Munich-based Hypo said in a statement it had increased the amount of guarantee capital it required from the German Financial Markets Stabilization Fund to €30 billion. A Hypo spokesman said the bank could use the capital to refinance itself on the market by selling it as short-term commercial paper.