“We will not kick you when you are down, at least not for a couple of days”: that is the gist of a putative deal struck by 18 global banks this week, which agreed not to pull abruptly out of contracts with each other if one of them hits the buffers. As modest as that may sound, regulators see it as the foundation of a firewall to halt the spread of future financial crises, The Economist reported. The agreement concerns derivatives, contracts whose value “derives” from the performance of an underlying asset such as a share, currency or bond.

Stakeholders have approved a controversial but essential step in U.S. Steel Canada Inc.’s bankruptcy protection process, allowing the company to move ahead with a restructuring that could result in the sale of its Canadian operations, the Financial Post reported. After several days of intensive behind-the-scenes negotiations — “virtually 24 hours a day,” according to U.S. Steel Canada lawyer Paul Steep — an agreement was reached Wednesday on a $185-million loan that will allow the company to continue operations during the restructuring process. The loan will come from U.S.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the new Insolvency Bill, repealing the current Bankruptcy Act and creating a legal environment for the use of insolvency laws, the Jamaica Observer reported. Jamaican law on bankruptcy and insolvency is currently contained in two pieces of legislation: the Bankruptcy Act, which covers personal and individual insolvency (inability to pay debt); and the Companies Act, which contains provisions to deal with the winding up of insolvent corporate bodies. The new act consolidates those provisions.

The largest global banks will have to hold more capital and liabilities than previously reported that can automatically be written off in a crisis -- as much as a quarter of risk-weighted assets -- as regulators take on lenders deemed too big to fail. The Financial Stability Board is developing minimum standards that will limit the double-counting of capital banks use to meet existing international rules, according to an FSB working document sent for comment to Group of 20 governments and obtained by Bloomberg News.

The Ontario Superior Court has adjourned a hearing on U.S. Steel Canada Inc. under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, The Globe and Mail reported. The hearing has been postponed until Tuesday so lawyers can try to negotiate a deal on debtor-in-possession financing. The key issue is the plan by the steel maker’s parent, United States Steel Corp., to provide $185-million in debtor-in-possession financing for the Canadian unit. That plan is opposed by the Ontario government and the United Steelworkers union, which argue that it gives U.S.

The International Monetary Fund Monday backed a gradual exchange of government bonds around the world with new contracts to counter risks that holdout creditors could disrupt potential debt restructurings, The Wall Street Journal reported. The IMF, along with some investors and economists, have warned that U.S. legal rulings that forced Argentina’s hand in a long battle with holdout creditors could imperil other debt operations because they give a small minority outsized power.

Property developer Seán Dunne would be allowed to “further manipulate assets” and frustrate the efforts of his creditors if he is allowed to withdraw his US bankruptcy case, Ulster Bank has told a US court, the Irish Times reported. Objecting to Mr Dunne’s application to dismiss his case before Connecticut’s bankruptcy court, Ulster Bank, one of the US-based developer’s biggest creditors, said in a new legal filing that the investigation into his finances would be “substantially hampered” if the court granted his motion to dismiss.

Banks should consider paying bonuses in the form of debt and giving their creditors a greater voice in boardrooms in an effort to keep risk-taking under control, the International Monetary Fund has said, the Financial Times reported. The findings, which are part of the IMF’s twice yearly Global Financial Stability Report, come after several countries, including the US, the EU and the UK, have passed reforms aimed at reducing the incentives for banks to gamble recklessly in the hope of driving up profits and payouts.

A U.S. judge held Argentina in contempt of court on Monday, saying the republic was trying to find ways to circumvent a prior order requiring it pay holdout bondholders at the same time as other creditors who restructured their debt in recent years, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan deferred a decision on imposing sanctions against Argentina to a later date. But he did say that the "problem is that the republic of Argentina has been and is now taking steps in an attempt to evade critical parts of" his injunction.

In its latest attempt to circumvent US courts, Argentina will seek to pay nearly $200m due on its restructured bonds by disbursing the money to investors next week via a local bank instead of Bank of New York Mellon, its trustee, the Financial Times reported. In response, holders of the country’s defaulted bonds have asked US District Judge Thomas Griesa to find the nation in contempt of court and fine it $50,000 for seeking to evade legal rulings that require Argentina to pay them in full if it also services its restructured debt.