Australian firms will find it easier to sell bonds in the U.S. after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government said it would reverse a court decision that ranked shareholders equally with creditors, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said, BusinessWeek reported. Some U.S. private placement investors had put Australian bonds into the “too-hard basket” on concerns that the Sons of Gwalia ruling would lower their ranking in the event of a default, ANZ head of debt capital markets Brad Scott said in a Feb. 5 briefing to investors.

Salthouse Marine Ltd, a historic and respected New Zealand maker of motor yachts, is in the hands of a receiver and is closing with the loss of about 50 jobs, TVNZ reported. Receiver John Price of HPL Partners said he was called in last Thursday by a private investor. "I have closed the company and all of the staff have been laid off," Price said. Two boats near completion were being finished and a decision was yet to be made on a large project. He declined to put a figure on the size of the receivership.

Ten stores from the Stax women's clothing chain have gone into receivership, The New Zealand Herald reported. About half the chain, those stores owned by Topsco International NZ Ltd are being close, while the rest are unaffected. Kenneth Brown and Paul Manning of RHB Accountants have been appointed receivers. The Stax website lists 21 stores across New Zealand. Stax's website says it has "no collection to display" under the "Season's Collections" tab. It also says a new website is about to be launched.

Mitre 10 Group says its three Wellington stores in receivership were trading profitably, but the owner's investments outside of his Mitre 10 interests were behind the collapses, The New Zealand Herald reported. The Crofton Downs, Rongotai and Tory St stores continue to trade, and the receiver is marketing them for sale individually or as a group. All Mitre 10 stores are owner-operated. The group's head office said it had been assisting the receiver with stocktaking at the affected stores.

The euro fell to the lowest level in five months against the dollar on concern Greece’s deteriorating finances will weigh on the region’s economic recovery, Bloomberg reported. The 16-nation currency also approached the lowest level in more than nine years against the Australian dollar on speculation European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark will reiterate his bearish outlook for the region’s economy and the budget deficit in Greece when he speaks today.

Two quarters of economic growth after five quarters of contraction is positive news but New Zealand’s recovery remains fragile, Finance Minister Bill English says, The National Business Review reported. GDP figures released today show the economy grew 0.2% in the September quarter and the June quarter has been revised upward from 0.1% to 0.2%. For the year to September, the economy contracted 2.2% compared with the year to September 2008. Mr English said the recovery remained fragile and any further problems abroad could weaken New Zealand's growth prospects.

The heat has been turned up on Capital+Merchant managing director Owen Tallentire and his colleagues, with the Official Assignee being appointed as liquidator of the company described by the Companies Office as the worst finance company they've seen, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Brian Clegg, the director of failed finance company Clegg and Co Finance was sentenced in the Auckland District Court today for six offences against the Companies Act and the Securities Act, The New Zealand Herald reported. "A number of these charges relate to false and misleading statements made in the company's 2005 and 2006 prospectuses and to the company's Trustee," said the Registrar of Companies, Neville Harris. The National Enforcement Unit of the Companies Office began its investigation after the matter was referred to it by the Securities Commission.

The Blue Chip investors who sparked the downfall of Mark Bryers have taken a hit to their wallets as a Gulf Harbour investment hotel unit they owned was seized by liquidators, The National Business Review reported. New Zealand investors Donald and Annette Rowson sank funds in to Blue Chip’s Gulf Harbour Lodge and originally applied to have Mark Bryers’ company Swordfish Lodge Management wound up in March 2008, which started the collapse of his companies.

A retirement village caught up in a tangled receivership and a unit-ownership crisis is getting time with Housing Minister Phil Heatley to discuss its plight, which could signal a solution on the horizon, The National Business Review reported. Stonehaven Retirement Village near Whangarei went in to receivership in December 2008 when the trust running it voluntarily found the new Retirement Village Act requirements too complex and time consuming to comply with.