Headlines

Deutsche Bank has racked up a loss of about €4.8 billion ($6.38 billion) in the final three months of 2008 alone, the bank said in a surprise profit warning on Wednesday that sent its shares tumbling, Reuters reported. The bank blamed troubled markets which ruined earnings at its sales and trading business, formerly the engine room of the one-time investment banking powerhouse. In addition, it racked up losses trying to hive off risky exposure which Deutsche said now put it on track for a net loss of roughly 3.9 billion euros for last year.

Apex Silver Mines Ltd, which runs silver mining operations in Latin America, has sought bankruptcy protection from creditors with a New York court, with plans to sell its stake in a Bolivian mining operation, Reuters reported. The company filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan late Monday, and says it will receive $27.5 million plus other consideration for its stake in the San Cristbal Mine in Bolivia from Sumitomo Corp.

Teschner Technologies, which designs and builds performance racing cycle frames and bikes, is now in receivership, Bike Europe reported. The first meeting of creditors was held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Appointed receivers are SV Partners pty Ltd in Brisbane. Australian Securities and Investment Corporation documents reveal that the senior investor in the companies resigned from the business in September 2008, leaving Teschner Technologies with large debts and little access to further funding.

As the year goes on and the economy worsens, insolvency will be where all the jobs are, predicted Prue Heron at restructuring and insolvency recruiter Commercial Finance People. “Businesses that can’t be salvaged will tip over into insolvency.” It’s a view shared by Malcolm Cohen, turnaround partner at BDO Stoy Hayward. “Most of the stuff we’re doing is insolvency related,” says Cohen. “It’s not about turnarounds. We need people with insolvency experience.” Becoming a fully licensed insolvency practitioner takes as long as three years.

The German government has agreed to take stakes in any large industrial companies facing insolvency because of credit shortages, according to leaders of chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, the Financial Times reported. Ms Merkel, whose government will today adopt a two-year, €50 billion ($67 billion, £44 billion) fiscal package, the largest stimulus in Europe since the start of the financial crisis, said measures would also include a €100 billion "Germany fund" that would issue credit guarantees to help cash-starved businesses raise debt.

According to information from Creditinfo Iceland, 5,938 companies and 17,541 individuals were in default on January 1, Iceland Review reported. said. According to Rakel Sveinsdóttir, managing director of Creditinfo Iceland, default claims had increased slowly but surely for a year before the collapse of the Icelandic economy in October. After that the speed of new defaults being registered increased fivefold. The Central Bank of Iceland has requested data from the Icelandic banks on the debts of individuals and companies to examine the effect the crisis has on the real economy.

Ailing South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor, which is seeking court receivership to avoid bankruptcy, announced it has suspended production because of a lack of parts, Agence France-Presse reported. Operations at the company's only plant at Pyeongtak, 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Seoul, will stop indefinitely, the Chinese-owned firm said. A Ssangyong spokeswoman told AFP the supply of auto parts would likely resume only after a local court gives a final ruling on the firm's application for protection from creditors.

As litigation, alternative dispute mechanisms and cooperation in regulation increase around the world, U.S. courts are increasingly recognizing foreign jurisdiction in commercial disputes, according to a new Proskauer Rose LLP report. At the same time, Bankruptcy Law360 reported, there has been an increasing “Americanization” of the European legal system, especially in regards to class and collective actions, as well as a steep uptick in coordinated regulatory actions as well as anti-corruption efforts.

Spanish prosecutors are investigating how Europe's second-largest bank, Banco Santander SA, lost more than €2.3 billion ($3.1 billion) for clients by investing with Bernard L. Madoff, The Wall Street Journal reported. Santander itself lost just €17 million. Prosecutors said Monday they want to know the details of Santander's relationship with Mr. Madoff's firm and when Santander knew about problems related to it.

The parent company of top-end menswear retailer Satori has gone into liquidation, The National Business Review reported. Axiom International went under in the week before Christmas, and owes creditors more than $2 million, according to the first liquidator’s report. More than half this money is owed to the ANZ National Bank, with unsecured creditors not expected to receive any payments. The liquidator’s report states that directors expect more funds to be available from Satori Retail, but the final amount will depend on a successful sale of that business or the sale of its stock.