Lone Pine Resources Inc. failed to make a US$10.1-million, semi-annual interest payment on its senior secured notes Thursday, setting the clock ticking on a possible default the could force the natural gas and light oil developer to seek protection from creditors, Stockhouse reported. The company, incorporated in Delaware but headquartered in Calgary, said failure by Lone Pine Resources Canada Ltd. to make the payment will result in default on the 10.375 per cent senior notes maturing in 2017 unless remedied within 30 days.

Canada will shut down the rail operator whose tanker train blew up in a Quebec town last month, killing 47 people, because the firm does not have enough insurance to pay clean-up costs and other damages, a government regulator said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The Canadian Transportation Agency said it would suspend the operating license of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) and its Canadian subsidiary from Aug.

The Canadian subsidiary of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, whose train ravaged Lac-Mégantic, got the creditor protection it was seeking, but the Quebec Superior Court judge who granted its request had some harsh words for the railway’s directors, The Globe and Mail reported. Justice Martin Castonguay granted the stay of proceedings against the railway company on Thursday to “avoid judicial anarchy.” However, the judge initially excluded the directors of Montreal Maine & Atlantic Canada from the court’s protection.

The U.S.-based company whose train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Que., last month announced Wednesday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in both Canada and the United States, The Globe and Mail reported. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maine. The Canadian division of the company also filed a petition under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act with the Superior Court of Quebec in Montreal, according to the statement.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said it could take a hit of up to $1.6 billion (1 billion pounds) in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations it mis-sold mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, Reuters reported. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has alleged 18 banks misrepresented the quality of the collateral backing securities between 2005 and 2008. Swiss bank UBS paid $885 million in a settlement with the FHFA last month and Citigroup and General Electric have settled for undisclosed sums.

Syncapse, the social media marketing management company that had hoped to provide enterprise-level solutions for companies such as Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson on Facebook, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in U.S. federal court, Business Insider reported. Syncapse was one of Facebook's "preferred marketing developers," a company that qualifies to serve ads into, and gather analytics from, the social network. The move suggests that the economics of social media marketing, absent being acquired by a bigger company, are more difficult than they may appear.

Seán Dunne’s adjudication as a bankrupt in Ireland marks the culmination in a five-month legal effort by one of his biggest lenders, Ulster Bank. The court’s ruling makes Dunne unique among the many former high-flying players of the boom-time property market – he is now bankrupt in two countries: Ireland, where he racked up debts of more than €700 million, and the United States, where he has lived for three years and is trying to start anew, the Irish Times reported.

Maxcom filed for pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a U.S. court, legal filings showed, as the Mexican telecoms firm pursues a recapitalization plan that would give full control to a investor group led by private equity firm Ventura Capital, Reuters reported. Small phone companies in Mexico have struggled to compete with billionaire businessman Carlos Slim's America Movil, which has about 70 percent of Mexican mobile connections and about 80 percent of the country's fixed lines.

Some local lenders to Mexican homebuilder Geo voted against signing an agreement the company recently reached with its major bank lenders to restructure its debt, according to a statement on Monday with Mexico's stock exchange, Reuters reported. The lenders hold local debt certificates that are backed by Geo assets. Geo, which is struggling with a heavy debt load and slowing home sales, said in June its main bank creditors had also agreed not to bring any new legal proceedings against the company and to suspend existing lawsuits.

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading nations plan to launch a new phase of the international crackdown on corporate tax avoidance this week even as UK business leaders are warning their government to resist “radical new solutions” to profit shifting by multinationals, the Financial Times reported. Britain has taken a lead in pressing for reform of the international tax rules after a wave of public anger over the low tax bills paid by some large multinationals.