Headlines

Leading Italian fashion houses put a brave, even chipper face on their Milan shows this season, despite being hard hit by the global economic downturn and the spectre of bankruptcy hanging over Gianfranco Ferre and Just Cavalli, Agence France-Presse reported. Normally reserved for VIP fashionistas, Ferre's front row on Friday included three government-appointed special administrators for its owner IT Holding as it faces bankruptcy proceedings.

Beleaguered US insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has begun to lay off staff at a number of its Irish divisions as part of a restructuring, the Irish Independent reported. And some of the businesses will be rebranded as American International Underwriters--the company which manages a number of AIG’s overseas units. Staff were informed of the restructuring plan yesterday and were told it could be completed within six weeks.

The brutal slew of layoffs in the legal industry continued Tuesday, with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announcing it would let go 300 associates and staff in the United States, Asia and Europe, and DLA Piper slashing 54 lawyers and support staff in Asia in light of the continuing worldwide economic crisis. Orrick said the move was necessary due to the world economic crisis “and the impact of that crisis on our clients and the levels of activity in the world market.” It said the layoffs were unrelated to performance and affected attorneys and staff throughout its offices and practices.

Foundering under $1.2 billion in debts, Brazilian beef exporter Independencia SA has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection to shield its U.S. bank accounts from creditor actions as the company pursues reorganization at home, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. The petition, filed Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, says Independencia has commenced restructuring "a crippling debt burden" under Brazilian insolvency law and requires court protection of its U.S. assets.

Tritec Manufacturing’s UK subsidiary Mountain Buggy UK has had all its European assets frozen by a Dutch bank after Denmark-based company DK Intertrade alleged the pushchair manufacturer had breached a contract, The National Business Review reported. The Danish distribution company was in court in New Zealand last week in a bid to get compensation as it believes Mountain Buggy breached a distribution contract. The company had already asked the Dutch court to freeze the assets of the UK subsidiary.

A receiver has been appointed to one of New Zealand's most prolific TV companies, Ninox Television, maker of shows including Location, Location, Location and Sensing Murder, The New Zealand Herald reported. Receiver Stephen Lawrence of PKF Insolvency and Recovery declined to give details about the company and the status of creditors. A Ninox director, John McEwan, said the receivership was part of a restructuring exercise and did not affect the operations of the company.

The collapse of Allen Stanford's global financial services empire has affected 225 Canadians who placed a total of US$308 million in one of Mr. Stanford's key holdings, Stanford International Bank, the Globe and Mail reported. Houston-based Stanford Financial Group and its subsidiaries had more than 30,000 clients, and offices around the world, including one in Montreal. Regulators in Canada and several countries have shut down the local affiliates and the company has been put into receivership. Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, or SIB, was central to the Stanford Group.

A judge has squashed the hopes of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its U.S. subsidiary for an interlocutory appeal in a securities fraud class action against bankrupt Italian dairy giant Parmalat SpA and its financial and accounting advisers, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S.

Ireland's largest bank, Allied Irish Banks PLC, reported a 61% drop in 2008 net profit as its written-off debts soared amid crumbling property markets in Ireland and the U.K. Allied Irish--which has subsidiaries or stakes in banks in 12 further countries, including the U.K., the U.S., and Poland--said its 2008 net profit fell to €767 million ($972 million) from €1.95 billion in 2007. The Dublin-based bank said €15.5 billion of its loans, or 12% of its total book, faced a risk of future payment failures, with 80% of that in Ireland.

U.K. Treasury minister Yvette Cooper today will open a fund to spur 13 billion pounds ($18 billion) of government-sponsored building projects stalled by a lack of bank finance, said a person familiar with the plan. About 110 projects covering improvements to highways, schools and hospitals will be eligible for the money, which the Treasury will lend at commercial terms to companies bidding for the work, according to the person, who didn’t want to be named before the decision is announced to Parliament.