Mexican mining and railroad company Grupo Mexico SA said it has dropped a plan to merge its U.S. unit Asarco with Southern Copper Corp., the subsidiary that runs its Mexican and Peruvian mining operations, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In its third-quarter earnings report, released Sunday, Grupo Mexico said Americas Mining Corporation, the holding company of its mining division, will explore strategic alternatives which could include securities offerings in capital markets.

The Manitoba Securities Commission and eight of the 10 former directors of the failed Crocus Investment Fund have arrived at a settlement agreement six-and-a-half years after regulatory action began, The Vancouver Sun reported on a Winnipeg Free Press story. The MSC's allegations against the directors involved the execution of their responsibilities as directors in the months leading up to the dramatic devaluation of Crocus shares and its subsequent receivership.

Two Congressmen from opposite sides of the aisle are calling on the Mexican government to take action in Vitro S.A.B.'s restructuring, which they say could set a "dangerous precedent" that will hurt investors in the Mexican glass company and future cross-border investment, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Rep. Jared Polis (D., Colo.) and Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.) sent a letter last week to the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., warning about the danger of allowing Vitro's pending restructuring to proceed.

Vitro S.A.B.'s bondholders are pushing to move forward with a legal battle that could cost $1.35 billion or more, calling the Mexican glassmaker's bid to stop them a meritless "act of pure gamesmanship," Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. An informal group of bondholders and bond trustee Wilmington Trust separately asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas Thursday to deny Vitro's request to enforce the shield of bankruptcy currently protecting the company from litigation, according to court papers.

Retailer Sterling Shoes Inc. is restructuring under court protection from creditors after the economic downturn brought an aggressive expansion plan to its knees, CanadianBusiness.com reported on a Canadian Press story. The company, which operates 158 stores under several banners in addition to the Sterling name, including Shoe Warehouse, Freedman, Joneve and Gia, plans to close stores and reduce its corporate overhead to get back on track.

India mining giant Ashapura Minechem Ltd. filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan in a move to block foreign shipping companies that won a $125 million legal judgment against it from raiding the company's U.S. bank accounts, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The Mumbai-based company, a mineral miner and processor with debts topping $223.4 million, argued that the seizure of its U.S.-based assets would jeopardize the financial overhaul underway in its home country.

Shares in Norway's troubled oil production equipment contractor Sevan Marine ASA traded 63% higher Friday after the company said it will sell three production, storage and offloading vessels to Canada's Teekay Corp. in a deal that will give the cash-strapped company long-term financing, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Teekay, a provider of marine services to the petroleum industry, will also subscribe to a new issue of Sevan Marine shares to gain a significant shareholding, Sevan Marine said, but declined to give further details.

A Nova Scotia judge has approved a plan to pay a portion of the debts owed to about 300 wood suppliers and silviculture operators while a buyer is sought for the shuttered NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill, CanadianBusiness.com reported on a Canadian Press story. The Supreme Court order would see the money come from the provincial government and a fund set up by NewPage, which closed its Point Tupper operation earlier this month. The government is eager to keep the woodland operators in business as the search for a possible buyer continues.

Mexican airline Interjet said on Wednesday it has opted against taking over the operations of troubled carrier Mexicana, which stopped flying a year ago due to financial difficulties, Reuters reported. In a newspaper announcement, Interjet said its board had been asked to consider taking on Mexicana's business by a third party, and had decided not to after reviewing the possibility. "We're aware of the difficult situation Mexicana's workers are going through, and we sincerely hope that their rights are safeguarded in the process," Interjet said.

Scott's Real Estate Investment Trust says it supports a motion to transfer the court-supervised restructuring of Priszm Income Fund to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Canadian Press reported. Canada's largest operator of KFC restaurants has been operating under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act since March but Priszm's secured creditors say the income trust can't be salvaged as a going concern.