Headlines

Spanish industrial production fell by almost a fifth during December, the largest decline on record, and data showed debt defaults soaring as the global crisis tipped Spain into deep recession. The 19.6 percent slump in output at Spain's credit-starved factories and businesses dwarfed slowdowns in other major European economies. A separate data release on Thursday from the National Statistics Institute showed 1,082 Spanish firms filed for bankruptcy protection between October and December, almost four times as many as in the same period of 2007.

The number of companies filing for administration jumped by nearly 125 percent in the final three months of last year as the financial crisis took its toll, The Times reported. Consumers also felt the pain as the number of bankruptcies last year soared to the highest level since records began in 1960. Over 350 people a day are now becoming insolvent. The total number of businesses going bust, which covers administrations and liquidations, rose by more than 50 percent as increasing numbers of companies struggled to access finance or secure insurance.

The Humber Valley Resort in Newfoundland formally entered bankruptcy in December, ending the latest chapter in an ambitious attempt to create an international luxury destination in Canada’s northeast province, according to an analysis in Raising the Roof, the property blog of the International Herald Tribune. Developed by London-based Newfound NV, which is also building resorts in the Caribbean, Humber Valley covers 2,200 acres and includes more than 200 chalets.

Nortel Networks Corp. is seeking a three-month extension to deal with its restructuring under bankruptcy protection, The Canadian Press reported. The company is asking the courts for the stay period to be extended to May 1. Nortel spokesperson Mohammed Nakhooda said motions were filed late Thursday and will be dealt with next week.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has asked the bankruptcy court to let it retain Jones Day as special counsel to help the former financial services company with issues that have arisen in the Asia-Pacific region related to its Chapter 11 case. In a motion filed Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Lehman said the law firm would help it in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Australia with matters related to its bankruptcy filing.

Allen & Overy (A&O) and SJ Berwin have taken lead roles as Icelandic retailer Baugur files for bankruptcy protection, LegalWeek reported. A&O, a longstanding adviser of the company, is fielding a team led by London finance partner Andrew Bamber. SJ Berwin is advising Icelandic bank Landsbanki--which was in talks with Baugur about the potential restructuring of £1 billion of debt--with a team led by London restructuring partner Mike Woollard, corporate partner David Parkes and finance partner Jen Yee Chan.

Japanese apartment developer Japan General Estate Co said on Thursday it has filed for bankruptcy protection with debts of 197.5 billion yen ($2.2 billion), Reuters reported. Hit by a slump in sales and a credit crunch sparked by U.S. subprime loan problems, nearly 600 real estate companies collapsed in Japan in 2008 after failing to make debt repayments.

A high-level meeting over a French plan to offer assistance to its car industry ended on Wednesday night with France insisting that the measures would not be protectionist, but Brussels warning that some restructuring of the sector would be needed, the Financial Times reported. The meeting was scheduled this week between Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, and Luc Chatel, the French industry minister.

Japanese police have arrested the chairman of a bedding company on suspicion he swindled investors out of $2.5 billion, in what local media said would be the biggest financial scam in Japanese history, Bloomberg reported. Officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan and Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectural police departments converged on the home of Kazutsugi Nami, 75, chairman of L&G KK, this morning, arresting him and 20 other people, said an official in the Metropolitan Police Department who declined to give his name citing policy.

Williams and Adams, Wellington's longest established and largest motor vehicle dealership, has gone into liquidation, The National Business Review reported. John Fisk of PricewaterhouseCoopers said Williams family shareholders met yesterday afternoon and passed a resolution to put the company into liquidation. The owners of the fourth generation family business had taken the failure of the business hard, he said. The company employs 115 staff and has 10 sites. It sells Holden, HSV, SAAB, Hummer, Jaguar and Land Rover brands.