BlackBerry maker Research in Motion says Canadians want and expect the Canadian government to prevent the $1.1-billion sale of Nortel Network's coveted wireless assets to Ericsson of Sweden, The Associated Press reported. Canada-based RIM issued a statement Wednesday after the deadline passed for appeals to challenge a bankruptcy court ruling allowing the Nortel sale to the Swedish telecommunications firm. RIM says the transaction must be reviewed to ensure that Canada's national interests are met. RIM wants Canada's industry minister to help negotiate a deal between RIM and Nortel.

Mexican miner Grupo Mexico SAB de CV said on Monday it would raise its offer for Asarco LLC to $2.2029 billion in cash, as it battles India's Sterlite Industries for control of the bankrupt U.S. copper miner, Reuters reported. In documents filed with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi, Texas, Grupo Mexico said its offer would include full repayment of administrative, priority, secured and asbestos personal injury claims, as well as payment in full on general unsecured claims.

Shermag Inc., which is operating under court protection from creditors, said Wednesday that the Quebec Superior Court has approved the purchase of the company by Groupe Bermex Inc. for $1.25 million, The Canadian Press reported. The company said the court has also approved an interim financing deal that will see Bermex contribute of up to $3 million to finance Shermag until the deal closes. Under a deal, Bermex would provide $1.25 million in exchange for nearly 41.7 million new Shermag shares, representing about 70 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares in the company.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is showing little inclination to intervene in the sale of Nortel's prime assets to a foreign buyer, saying he is reluctant to erect protectionist barriers in Canada while preaching the benefits of freer trade in the Americas, The Globe and Mail reported. Mr. Harper rejected a call from Research In Motion Ltd. for the government to simply block the sale of Nortel Networks Corp.'s wireless assets to Ericsson for $1.13-billion, but left open the prospect of a review under the Investment Canada Act.

Canadian bankruptcies rose 51.6 percent in June compared to a year earlier as more consumers were unable to pay debts, but business bankruptcies rose only modestly despite the recession, a government report showed. The number of consumer bankruptcies in June rose 54.3 percent to 10,823 from June 2008, while business bankruptcies rose 10.8 percent to 515, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada said in a report.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s Bermuda-based life insurance unit, Lehman Re, filed for bankruptcy protection, citing alleged shortfalls on its reinsurance obligations and lawsuits against it in the US, The Royal Gazette reported. The petition for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in Manhattan court on Thursday listed more than $1 billion in debts and as much as $1 billion in assets. Under Chapter 15, companies can win protection from US lawsuits and organise US creditors to help with the company's main bankruptcy in another country.

India's Sterlite Industries and Mexican miner Grupo Mexico squared off in court on Monday and raised their respective bids for bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC, which is seeking to end its four-year bankruptcy. Sterlite offered to raise the cash portion of its bid to $1.58 billion, up from $1.1 billion, said Asarco lawyer Jack Kinzie at the start of a court hearing in Texas on Monday. Including a note to creditors with a net present value of $83 million, Sterlite's new bid was worth $1.67 billion, Kinzie told the court.

Ivan Erceg has appointed Peter Jollands as the receiver for Sensation Yachts after Public Trust placed the company into liquidation late last month, The National Business Review reported. Speaking from the South of France, Mr Erceg told NBR that the full debt of Sensation Yachts would not be known until creditors started filing claims.

A flood of objections has come in against the parent company of Asarco LLC, which filed one of three competing reorganization plans for the bankrupt copper mining company, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. The deadline for filing objections to the plan was Wednesday, at which time Asarco told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that the plan proposed by its parent, Grupo Mexico SAB de CV, was not filed in good faith, not fair and equitable, not feasible, and failed to comply with all provisions necessary to confirm a plan.

Fraser Papers Inc., a Toronto-based forestry company that's restructuring under bankruptcy protection from creditors, said its net loss for the second quarter narrowed by nearly half as the company booked a currency related one-time gain, The Canadian Press reported. Fraser said it lost US$8 million or 36 cents a share for the quarter ended June 30, down from US$15.6 million or 31 cents a share for the same 2008 period. During the second quarter, Fraser booked a net gain of $12.5 million from unwinding its foreign exchange hedging program.