The International Monetary Fund has asked its member countries for an extra $500bn in firepower to combat the world’s spreading fiscal emergencies, which it estimates will generate demand for bail-out loans totalling $1tn over the next two years, the Financial Times reported. The estimate was presented by Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, to the fund’s executive board this week, according to people familiar with the discussions, and would most likely be financed by voluntary ad hoc loans rather than mandatory contributions. The IMF currently has $387bn in available resources.

Struggling Catalyst Paper Corp. has received the go-ahead from a court in British Columbia to begin a planned restructuring, while at the same time filing for protection from creditors in the United States, The Globe and Mail reported. The Richmond, B.C.,-based company said Wednesday a B.C. court had issued an initial order under the Canada Business Corporations Act to begin the restructuring process. The plan would see bondholders take control of the firm. It would also reduce its overall debt by $315.4-million and cut annual cash interest payments by $25.5-million.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Catalyst Paper Corp. on Tuesday after the company signed a deal to significantly cut its debt under a recapitalization plan that will see its bondholders take control of the firm, CanadianBusiness.com reported on a Canadian Press story. The agency downgraded Catalyst to Ca from Caa3 and its senior secured notes to Caa3 to Caa2. The company's senior unsecured notes were downgraded to C from Ca. Under the Moody's rating system, anything less than BBB is considered too risky for conservative fund managers such as pension plans.

Sino-Forest Corp., the Chinese timber company fending off allegations of fraud, said it reached a waiver agreement with bondholders, reducing the risk of bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported. Holders of a majority in principal of its senior notes due 2014 and 2017 agreed to waive the default arising from the company’s failure to release its third-quarter financial results on time, Hong Kong- and Mississauga, Ontario-based Sino-Forest said today in a statement.

The number of failed companies is expected to rise by 3 percent globally this year, led by Europe, under the weight of an economic slowdown and tighter monetary and budgetary policy, credit insurance company Euler Hermes said in a report, Reuters reported. Failures will likely increase by 12 percent in the euro zone, including a 19 percent rise among Mediterranean countries that have been "very weakened by the crisis", Euler Hermes Chief Economist Ludovic Subran said. Euler Hermes economists expect global gross domestic product growth to slow to 2.7 percent this year from 3 percent in 2011.

Canada’s unemployment rate rose for a third month in December, the longest advance in two years, as a gain in jobs trailed growth of the labor force, Bloomberg reported. The jobless rate increased to 7.5 percent from November’s 7.4 percent and the recent low of 7.1 percent in September, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Employment rose by 17,500, the first gain in three months. Over the past six months, the number of jobs has grown by 7,400, compared with a gain of 191,800 in the first half of 2011.

Homburg Invest Inc. has filed a formal objection to a decision by the Dutch securities regulator to revoke its investment licence in the country, CanadianBusiness.com reported. The Halifax-headquartered company, which is under creditor protection, said Thursday that it plans to consider all legal steps to challenge the decision made in late November which prevents it from issuing new equity in the Netherlands.

Canadian silicon producer Timminco Ltd filed for protection from creditors, after it failed to secure funding and a slump in the market hit the restart of the company's commercial solar-grade silicon production, Reuters reported. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial Division) gave an order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, granting the company protection till Feb. 2, Timminco said in a statement. Becancour Silicon Inc, a unit of Timminco also filed for protection.

Natural and organic bedding producer Natura World said yesterday that it has filed a notice of intention to restructure its business under Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, and has reached an agreement with its lender to provide C$7.8 million in new financing, FurnitureToday.com reported yesterday. The company said that the financing from Callidus Capital of Toronto will create an opportunity for Natura to solidify its position as a natural and organic sleep products brand. The company said there will be no disruption of service to its customers, vendors or suppliers.

The Supreme Court of Canada said that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's proposal to create a national securities regulator is unconstitutional, arguing that the federal government overstepped its authority into provincial jurisdiction, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The nine members of the country’s highest court said in its unanimous opinion that the federal government’s proposal "overreaches genuine national concerns." Canada is the only industrialized country in the world without a national securities regulator.