Shares in Japan Airlines plunged to a record low today amid rumours that Asia's biggest carrier could file for bankruptcy in an attempt to turn around its failing business, the Guardian reported. The transport minister, Seiji Maehara, and other cabinet ministers were this evening holding crisis talks to discuss JAL's options ahead of an official decision on the airline's future late next month.

Bankruptcy has been proposed by a state-backed fund as an option in the restructuring of Japan Airlines Corp., two sources familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported. The state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan (ETIC) has been holding talks with creditor banks on how to revive JAL, and is expected to make a final decision on whether to support the struggling carrier next month.

Aiful Corp. rose in Tokyo, adding to last week’s 35 percent gain, after Japan’s third-largest consumer lender reached an agreement with creditors that will help it avoid bankruptcy, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. The Kyoto-based lender, which said Dec. 24 that creditors approved a plan to delay repayments on 279.1 billion yen ($3.05 billion) of debt, rose as much as 3.6 percent to 144 yen and traded at 140 yen at the 11 a.m. break in Tokyo. Aiful met 65 creditors in Tokyo last week and won approval to resume repaying its loans from Sept.

Aiful Corp., Japan’s third-largest consumer lender by assets, won approval from creditors for a debt restructuring plan that will enable it to avoid bankruptcy, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. The Kyoto-based company met with about 70 creditors, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in Tokyo today and they agreed to allow the company to delay payments on 280 billion yen ($3.1 billion) of loans, said the people, who declined to be identified before an official announcement.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s European and Japanese units have swapped $2 billion in assets, allowing $1 billion to be dispersed under the European division's claims resolution agreement, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

Capmark Financial Group Inc's Japanese loan servicing unit is being sold to Elliott Management for 3.4 billion yen ($38 million), a U.S. fund management firm, which outbid Japan's Orix and others, U.S. court documents show, Reuters reported. Elliott outbid to buy Capmark's Japanese loan servicing business called Premier Asset Management, according to the documents, by beating Sandringham Capital Partners, a UK-based fund management firm which had agreed to buy Premier in October.

Gold’s rally to a record may be related to investors seeking to protect themselves from a government defaulting on its debt rather than inflation, according to economists at Fathom Financial Consulting, Bloomberg reported. Gold’s advance of about 35 percent this year suggests the metal may be in a “micro-bubble” even though it’s hard to argue that there is a generalized asset bubble forming in the world economy, the London-based consultancy said.

Japan passed into law Monday a conditional moratorium on loan repayments by small businesses and home owners, a move that opponents say may lead to an increase in bad loans on the books of the country's banks, The Wall Street Journal reported. The bill, which has been in the works since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in September, was passed by the upper house of Japan's parliament on Monday, according to a spokesman at the Japanese banking regulator the Financial Services Agency.

The cost of taking a stake in embattled Japan Airlines Corp might weaken the credit strength of AMR Corp, but the parent company of American Airlines would have more to lose if it allowed JAL to slip into an alliance with other carriers, Reuters reported. At stake is a share of JAL's lucrative Asian routes. Delta Air Lines and its SkyTeam partners have offered more than $1 billion to persuade JAL to defect from the rival Oneworld alliance.

Kangaroo Island Abalone has received a State Government grant of $270,000 to upgrade electricity infrastructure at its east farm, The KI Islander reported. The farm has been run solely on diesel generated power since 2005 and general manager Justin Harman said the new infrastructure could halve the company’s annual diesel fuel bill for that farm. The company spends about $250,000 a year on diesel. The innovative new system will connect the farm to the main electricity grid but have the capacity to disconnect it when the load reaches network limit on Kangaroo Island.