Headlines

A top Kremlin official warned that Russia's debt-burdened tycoons might have to part with their assets amid the deepening global crisis -- and says the government no longer has the resources to bail them out, The Wall Street Journal reported. Arkady Dvorkovich, President Dmitry Medvedev's top economic aide, said the tycoons who built their empires with tens of billions of dollars in foreign loans will have to deal with their creditors now that they can't cover payment.

Brazilian bankruptcy filings are set to soar as the country’s corporates are squeezed by a global downturn and gridlocked capital and bank markets, say lawyers specializing in the matter. Ronald Herscovici, a partner at Souza Cescon in Sao Paulo, said the new bankruptcy law in Brazil makes it more attractive for companies to file because it encourages the preservation of the concern, rather than pushing towards asset liquidation, as with the former law, LatinFinance reported.

The forint hit a new low against the euro Friday, continuing a slide spurred Thursday by a Hungarian Banking Association letter instructing its members to fend off rumors of an impending freeze on customers' deposits, The Wall Street Journal reported. The country's central bank quickly sought to assure depositors their money was safe to avoid a run on the banks, but the effort failed to stabilize the currency. On Friday, the forint fell .95% against the euro. The currency has lost more than 20% against the euro since the start of the year.

The employees of biometric voice identification and verification start-up Zehu Technologies Ltd. have urgently petitioned the Tel Aviv District Court to appoint a temporary ex parte receiver, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. The employees are also asking that a tender be drawn up for the sale of the company's intellectual property within 48 hours. In their petition, the employees said that their October and November 2008 salaries were only paid in January 2009.

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan rose 10.38% in the 12 months to February to 1,318, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Compared to January, the number of bankruptcy cases fell 3.08% from 1,360. The credit research firm also reported that the total debt of bankrupt companies increased 236.55% year-over-year in February to ¥1.23 trillion. On a monthly basis, the amount of debt rose 46.5% from January's level. Read more.

The crisis at General Motors threatens to drag down Opel, a storied German brand that GM bought 80 years ago on the eve of the Great Depression, the International Herald Tribune reported. Many in the industry believe Opel has a future only if it can get a temporary helping hand from the German government.

German carmaker Opel should consider entering insolvency, the country's interior minister has said. Modern insolvency law was "not set up for the destruction but for the preservation of economic assets", said Wolfgang Schaeuble. The comments came as executives from Opel and its parent General Motors (GM) met government officials and promised more details on a restructuring plan, the BBC reported.

Swedish auto parts maker Plastal Holding AB, which employs 6,000 people in Europe and is 90 percent owned by investment fund Nordic Capital, said yesterday it had filed for bankruptcy, the Globe and Mail reported. "Efforts to avoid insolvency have failed," Plastal said in a joint statement with Nordic Capital. Plastal counts Ford, Volvo, Daimler, Audi, Volkswagen and BMW among its clients. "The auto sector is in free fall at the moment. Bankruptcy is the last resort," Nordic Capital said.

Canadian Superior Energy Inc sought court protection from its creditors on Thursday, sending its shares down by 41 percent, Reuters reported. The Toronto Stock Exchange said it was mulling the delisting shares of the junior oil producer. Canadian Superior stock fell 20 Canadian cents, or 41 percent, to 29 Canadian cents, after earlier touching 23.5 Canadian cents. Volume was 1.28 million shares, nearly 10 times the average over the past three months.

Just off Kiev's busy Khreshchatyk thoroughfare, armed and masked security officers barged into the offices of state-owned energy giant Naftogaz, placing the Ukrainian company once again at the center of government infighting and corruption allegations, Forbes reported on an Associated Press story. The raid Wednesday underscores the Naftogaz problem at the heart of the country's crucial energy sector, and the threat its sprawling, inefficient and impoverished condition poses to European energy security. Ultimately, Naftogaz is Europe's problem.