Headlines

Stayton Commercial Property Investments Ltd has gone into receivership, the West Yorkshire town’s Dewsbury Reporter said. The company, an arm of the Stayton Group, owns the ground floor and basement of Pioneer House in Dewsbury. It also owns commercial properties on Westgate, Market Street, Union Street and Church Street. A spokesman for Stayton Group said talks with the company's bankers were ongoing.

Italian automaker Fiat says it has closed a deal to take over Chrysler's good assets, forming a new company and clearing the way for the struggling Chrysler to emerge from bankruptcy protection, The Associated Press reported. Fiat signed on to the deal early Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday refused to hear an appeal of lower court rulings that approved the asset sale. The deal means that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne will take over control of Chrysler.

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said Tuesday that the German government foresees major restructuring and a wave of mergers for the country's state-owned banks, the Los Angeles Times reported on an Associated Press story. Germany has eight public sector banks, or Landesbanken, owned by regional governments such as Bavaria and Berlin that play a key role in Europe's largest economy by funding local businesses. But big bets on global financial markets and large investments in securitized debt linked to the U.S.

Arcandor AG, whose century-old Karstadt department-store chain employs about 25,000 Germans, filed for insolvency after scrapping its bid for a state rescue, Bloomberg reported. The company said this afternoon that it filed to open insolvency proceedings with the district court in its home town of Essen, citing “threatening illiquidity.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the collapse was “unavoidable” after investors and banks offered too little to save the company. Two pleas for help by Arcandor were rejected yesterday by the government.

British van maker LDV was placed under bankruptcy protection Monday following the collapse of a rescue bid by a Malaysian company, The Wall Street Journal reported on an Associated Press story. The court action in Birmingham, in central England, marked the second time that LDV, which has about 850 employees, had been placed in administration. LDV's Asian distributor, Weststar, had sought to take over LDV but that effort fell apart last week when the Malaysian company said it had been unable to arrange financing.

Italian automaker Fiat said Tuesday it will not turn its back on a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler despite a U.S. Supreme Court stay on the sale, the Associated Press reported. Under terms of the agreement, Fiat has the option to abandon the deal if it is not completed by June 15. "Fiat won't walk away from Chrysler," Fiat spokesman Gualberto Ranieri said. The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday to hear a challenge by three Indiana pension and construction funds could ultimately scuttle the sale. But the delay could also only be temporary.

Chinese state media have confirmed plans to merge China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, creating an aviation company with a dominant position in domestic hub Shanghai, Agence France-Presse reported. “Starting June 8, China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines officially began their restructuring procedures," said Liu Jiangbo, a China Eastern spokesman, according to Xinhua news agency late Monday. He declined to provide any further details, according to Xinhua.

The greater Sydney area’s Cumberland Industries, which provides employment, training and vocational support opportunities in for people with disabilities, has been placed into voluntary administration, The Western Week-Ender reported. A spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that Peter Hedge and Associates has been appointed as the administrator. “Cumberland has been providing employment and training for people with a disability since 1962 and we’re very proud of our history and commitment to the community,” the spokesperson said.

German state-controlled bank WestLB AG was close to being shut down over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bundesbank President Axel Weber and President of Germany's BaFin financial regulator Jochen Sanio threatened to close the state bank at crisis talks held during the weekend, the people familiar with the talks said. It was only after this threat that the regional savings banks, which hold large stakes in West LB, agreed to raise the guarantee framework for the debt-laden Landesbank, the people said.

The Gulf state of Qatar is considering buying a big stake in either Volkswagen or its majority owner Porsche, the BBC reported. VW said in a statement that it would welcome the investment because it would speed up its merger with Porsche. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is in advanced talks about buying up to 25% of Porsche, according to a report in the Financial Times. Porsche owns more than 50% of VW, but suspended attempts to buy a controlling stake of 75% when it ran out of money.