North America

There is rough news for employees at Arclin Canada with word that workers in Thunder Bay are being laid off, Net News Ledger reported. The move comes as the company continues to restructure. On July 27, 2009, Arclin announced that it reached an agreement in principle with certain of its key senior lenders on the terms of a financial restructuring to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet and enhance its financial flexibility. Under terms of the agreement, Arclin’s funded indebtedness will be reduced from US$234 million to US$60 million.

Unless government programs for the unemployed are refined, there is a danger that high jobless rates will persist beyond 2010 in advanced economies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Wednesday. The international organization said that unemployment among its 30 member nations would rise to nearly 10 percent by the end of 2010, above its previous post-1970 peak of 7.5 percent during the second quarter of 1993, The New York Times reported.

China unexpectedly ratcheted up pressure on the United States in a widening trade dispute on Sunday evening, taking steps toward imposing tariffs on American exports of automotive products and chicken meat in retaliation for President Obama’s decision late Friday to levy tariffs on tires, The New York Times reported.

Indian metals maker Sterlite Industries Ltd said on Friday it raised its offer price for bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco to $2.565 billion, Reuters reported. Sterlite, a unit of India-focused mining company Vedanta Resources, has been facing off with Mexican miner Grupo Mexico for the assets of Asarco, which has been under bankruptcy protection since 2005. Last month a U.S. bankruptcy court recommended that Grupo Mexico be allowed to take control of Asarco as it was more likely to pay Asarco's creditors in full.

An exclusive resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands that catered to celebrities and offered personal butlers and a pillow menu has closed after less than two years of operation, The Associated Press reported. The owner of Nikki Beach Resort & Spa — Leeward Resort Ltd. — has been placed into receivership, General Manager Jonathan Steers said. The resort, which the Travel Channel rated No. 2 on its list of the "21 Hottest Caribbean Escapes" this year, is the latest one in the region to close amid the global economic crisis.

Ford Motor Co.'s Canadian division and the Canadian Auto Workers union began labor talks on Tuesday after the union made substantial concessions to both General Motors and Chrysler earlier this year, The Associated Press reported. Ford asked the CAW to reopen its current labor contract, which doesn't expire until 2011. The GM and Chrysler concessions were part of a restructuring process that saw both automakers file for U.S. bankruptcy protection and receive billions of dollars from governments in both Canada and the United States.

U.S. and Canadian authorities set a Nov. 13 deadline for creditor claims against AbitibiBowater, the newsprint maker said Friday. The Quebec Superior Court in Canada and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware also established procedural rules for filing the creditor claims, The Associated Press reported. "Launching the claims process at this juncture demonstrates continued progress in AbitibiBowater's restructuring efforts," said AbitibiBowater CEO David J. Paterson.

Satelites Mexicanos SA, the Mexican satellite operator that emerged from bankruptcy in 2006, aims to reach a restructuring agreement with bondholders by the end of the year to ensure it can update an aging satellite fleet, Bloomberg reported. Satmex needs to restructure its debt to make the business “sustainable,” Chief Financial Officer Luis Stein said. Mexico City-based Satmex is seeking funding to replace a satellite launched in 1994 with a newer one that could expand the services it offers.

Grupo Mexico SAB should be allowed to regain control of its bankrupt U.S. copper mining unit, Asarco LLC, by giving creditors almost $2.5 billion, a judge said, rejecting an offer from Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., Bloomberg reported. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard Schmidt today sent his recommendation to a district court judge who will make the final decision about what will happen to Asarco, more than five years after the company filed bankruptcy.

The U.S. tax authorities have thrown a huge curve ball at Nortel creditors by submitting a $3-billion U.S. claim for back taxes, interest and other penalties, The Ottawa Citizen reported. If U.S. bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross accepts all or most of the claim as valid, "it will deplete whatever is available to other creditors," says Tony Marsh, the spokesman for Nortel retirees. "That's a pretty scary number." If Nortel completes the sale of its global assets as planned, it is expected to have little more than $5 billion (all figures U.S.) in cash to distribute.