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Germany's government hasn't yet agreed to help keep afloat Quelle, the mail-order unit of retail and tourism company Arcandor AG , but a collateralized loan may be an option, federal Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Thursday. Zu Guttenberg was backtracking after his Bavarian counterpart Martin Zeil said Wednesday that Germany's government was ready to step in, The Wall Street Journal reported. Zeil said Quelle wouldn't receive loan guarantees as that would be too risky for German taxpayers' money, but the federal government agreed to a collateralized loan.

Lenders to French roofing company Monier Group have approved a restructuring deal that sees a group of debt investors take control of the company, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday. The deal is one of the largest "loan to own" restructurings in Europe, and has been led by debt investors Apollo Management, TowerBrook and York Capital. Monier's previous owner, private equity firm PAI Partners, made a rival debt-for-equity proposal to lenders but now faces losing control of one of its biggest investments.

Bank of Queensland says there is no evidence of dishonest practices by the bank in connection with Storm Financial clients, the Brisbane Times reported. BOQ sought on Thursday to clarify its position given what it said was "significant misinformation'' in the media about its dealings with Storm Financial and Storm customer accounts. Based on "the bank's knowledge and enquiries to date'', it said, "there is no evidence of improper or dishonest practices or conduct by the bank in connection with Storm clients''.

The European Central Bank on Wednesday pumped hundreds of billions of euros in one-year loans into the eurozone’s weakened banking system, making record amounts of emergency finance available in a bid to unlock credit markets and revive the region’s economies, the Financial Times reported. The move came as the US Federal Reserve pushed back against expectations of an early rise in US interest rates. In a dramatic step dubbed “stimulus by stealth” in financial markets, the ECB lent €442.2bn for 12 months to more than 1,100 banks at its current benchmark interest rate of 1 per cent.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. held discussions this week with General Motors Corp. about the possibility of buying Adam Opel GmbH if an existing bid for the European unit of GM falls through, a person familiar with the situation said, The Wall Street Journal reported. GM executives in Europe met with representatives of Beijing Auto after the Chinese government-owned company expressed interest in Opel for a second time, the person said.

The salvage operation for Britain’s banks may have cost the taxpayer billions of pounds, but it has proved a bonanza for Slaughter and May, one of the country’s biggest law firms, the Financial Times reported. Lawyers acting for the firm amassed fees of more than £22 million in the past year, advising Treasury ministers on a range of bank rescues from Northern Rock to RBS and Lloyds. The fees dwarf anything paid to the other four big law firms in the “magic circle” and were described on Wednesday as “mind-blowing” by the Liberal Democrat peer who raised the issue.

Prices are falling faster in Ireland than anywhere else in the developed world. Now, beleaguered retailers face an even bigger strain as more shoppers head north, out of the country, for bargains. For years, shoppers have hopped the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. But recently, a deepening recession, complaints about a "rip-off republic," a weaker British pound and a wide gap in tax rates have dramatically increased the appeal of stores in Northern Ireland. To try to keep people like Ms.

Convicted fraudster John Gilbert has stepped down from his role as liquidator of Horizon Printing after creditors of the printing and publishing group took their concerns to court. Mr Gilbert confirmed to The National Business Review that he had resigned as liquidator for Horizon Printing but would be defending his position as receiver of related company Retail Media. Horizon Printing creditors had wanted Mr Gilbert to step aside as liquidator of the company because of concerns over the sale of the business’ assets to the newly formed Big Quality Print.

Antigua and Barbuda's government on Tuesday dismissed the country's chief financial regulator over his alleged role in the Allen Stanford fraud case, and vowed to root out further corruption "cancer" if it existed, Reuters reported. Leroy King had already been suspended last week as head of the Caribbean nation's Financial Services Regulatory Commission over U.S. charges that he collaborated with Texas billionaire Stanford in a $7 billion "massive Ponzi scheme". In announcing the Antigua and Barbuda cabinet's decision, Attorney General Justin Simon told Reuters he had received from U.S.

State Street Corp. is facing a lawsuit from a Dutch pension fund claiming that the bank invested more than $40 million in a European unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. without informing the fund, and now the money is frozen in bankruptcy proceedings, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)