The war on those stashing undisclosed money offshore intensified this week when 47 countries, including the Group of 20 and some prominent tax havens, sealed a pact that will shake up the sharing of tax information, The Economist reported. Under the present system, countries have to file requests with each other for data on suspected cheats. Even reasonable enquiries are often rejected as “fishing expeditions”. In future the signatories—and dozens of others that will be pressed into joining later—will automatically exchange information once a year.

Boutique Jacob, a Canadian women's fashion retailer that filed for creditor protection in 2010, is liquidating its inventory and closing its stores after failing to find new financing or return to profitability, the company said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Jacob, whose stylish, business-casual fashion catered to young professional women, said it was hurt by a challenging economy in recent years combined with an influx of international brands into Canada. Canadian retailers have come under increasing pressure from U.S.

Troubled Mexican homebuilder Homex has filed for bankruptcy after gaining the support of a majority of its creditors, the company said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The Culiacan-based company, which has struggled with a heavy debt load and slumping home sales, said it was seeking additional financing during the bankruptcy proceedings. Mexican homebuilders have been hit hard since the government shifted to a policy in the last few years that gives priority to subsidies for apartment purchases by new home buyers, hurting sales of cheap houses built by Geo, Homex, and Urbi.

Exports of liquefied natural gas could start as soon as late 2016 if a consortium led by AltaGas Ltd. succeeds in buying the insolvent Douglas Channel LNG project through a court supervised process, investors heard Thursday, the Calgary Herald reported. David Cornhill, chairman and chief executive of the Calgary-based gas and power company, said at its annual general meeting that term sheets to be presented to creditors could be finalized by next Monday.

Former employees of Nortel Networks in Canada are looking to reclaim their share in the allocation of the company’s global estate, but only on a fair and equitable basis, Benefits Canada reported. Nortel Retirees and Former Employees Protection Canada says the heart of the dispute over the company’s estate is with its current bondholders. The group claims that bondholders are trying to make the U.S. estate solvent, which would force the company to pay interest on the bonds since filing for creditor protection as well as leave less money to go to Canadian creditors.

U.S. and Canadian customers of failed Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox have agreed to settle their proposed class action lawsuits that alleged the company defrauded them of hundreds of millions of dollars, Reuters reported. The class action plaintiffs agreed to support a plan by Sunlot Holdings to buy the shuttered exchange and accept their share of bitcoins still held by Mt. Gox, according to a statement and court filings. Mt.

If Telus Corp hopes to press its advantage in an upcoming auction of wireless airwaves, the Canadian telecom may need to abandon its plan to snatch a floundering rival out of creditor protection and back away from a nasty fight with the government. Canada's Conservative government has aggressively opposed the carrier's expansion plans, which Ottawa sees as a challenge to its policy of encouraging more competition in an industry dominated for years by Telus and its two main rivals, BCE Inc and Rogers Communications Inc.

Canadian Industry Minister James Moore said on Thursday he plans to announce a decision soon on whether or not to approve Telus Corp's C$350 million ($317.42 million) bid for Mobilicity, Reuters reported. The federal government has twice rejected previous Telus bids for the struggling wireless upstart on the grounds that a purchase would further concentrate ownership of wireless spectrum, the airwaves telecom companies rely on for booming mobile data use. Moore noted those prior rejections and said Ottawa's spectrum transfer policy had not changed.

Cuba and the Paris Club of wealthy creditor nations are working to resume talks over billions of dollars of official debt in a new sign the communist government is interested in rejoining the global economy, Reuters reported. A Paris Club delegation quietly travelled to Havana late last year to meet with Cuban bank officials, who were prepared with various proposals and appeared eager to strike a deal, according to Western diplomats.

American investment firms have found numerous opportunities to capitalize on the turmoil in Europe’s banking sector by buying distressed assets. But one major private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is taking a novel approach, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported.