Headlines

Britain-based porcelain maker Royal Worcester & Spode Ltd. has gone into bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported yesterday. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said it had been appointed to administer the company, which manufactures and sells earthware and china products. The company employs 388 people in Britain and has a site in the U.S. state of New Jersey. PricewaterhouseCoopers said the company's U.S. subsidiary was outside its formal administration regime but that it would coordinate its moves with the American management team.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. this week fended off a bid by creditor Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to seize more than $300 million in Lehman assets it is holding in the wake of the investment bank's collapse, the Wall Street Journal Asia reported today. At a hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan denied an attempt by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking to sell collateral as part of a $350 million loan it provided to Lehman and chastised the Japanese bank, part of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., for moving too quickly to seize the collateral.

The number of companies going bust soared by 26.3 percent between July and September this year as the worsening economy took its toll on UK businesses, the Times Online reported today. The Insolvency Service said that 4,001 companies fell into liquidation during the third quarter--a 10.5 percent rise on the previous three months and a 26.3 percent increase on the same period last year.

Iceland began the early stages of figuring out how to restructure its banks' enormous foreign debts as its economy descends into what its central bank warned Thursday would be a "severe recession," the Wall Street Journal reported today. The IMF board is expected to consider a proposed $2.1 billion loan to Iceland on Friday, part of an effort to shore up several countries caught off guard as liquidity froze amid the financial crisis.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen posted a second-quarter operating loss on the back of restructuring costs, but results at the world's largest printing press maker still beat market expectations, Reuters reported today. The company made a loss of 50 million euros ($64.2 million) before interest and tax in the three months to end-September, compared to a profit of 70 million in the previous year, but 15 analysts polled by Reuters had been expecting on average a loss of 69 million.

ABC Learning Centres Ltd., the world's largest child care operator, was seized by its lenders after the global credit crisis forced up the cost of servicing its debt, which increased almost 20 times over a three-year buying spree. ABC Learning, which looks after one in three Australian children in daycare through almost 1,100 centers, joins Allco Finance Group as the second Australian company to appoint outside managers this week after being unable to repay debt, Bloomberg reported today. Former CEO Eddy Groves borrowed to expand in the U.S.

The directors of Australian structured-finance firm Allco Finance Group Ltd. said Tuesday they have placed the firm in voluntary administration, after failing to reach agreement with bankers over further debt extensions, the Wall Street Journal Asia reported yesterday. Under Australian law, voluntary administration is an alternative to the traditional options of liquidation and straight receivership for a company that can't repay its debts.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday approved a $16.5 billion loan program for Ukraine that includes monetary and exchange rate policy shifts to ease strains from the global financial crisis, Reuters reported yesterday. The IMF said it would immediately disburse $4.5 billion to the government under the two-year loan agreement.

CAI, the consortium of Italian investors set up to salvage bankrupt airline Alitalia, would take on debts and make cash payments for a total of 1 billion euros ($1.29 billion) in return for taking ownership, Associated Press reported today. CAI will take on more than 625 million euros ($800 million) of Alitalia's debt, about half of what the company owes. The rest of the deal will be settled in cash, with a first installment of 100 million euros ($129 million) to be paid on the day the agreement is signed, Alitalia said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

Officials from four Nordic central banks and finance ministries held a private meeting in Stockholm on Wednesday to discuss their contributions to a $6 billion rescue package for Iceland, the Financial Times reported. The gathering was a strong sign that Denmark, Sweden and Finland are drawing closer to announcing a multibillion euro package of loans after Norway agreed a €500m ($648m, £405m) advance last week. The four Nordic nations have said they are willing to support Iceland but only after it agreed to design and implement an economic stabilisation plan in association with the IMF.