The wave of bankruptcies that swept across the country during the recession has seen the government’s unclaimed bankruptcy account leap by about 45% as the feds seized money and assets belonging to insolvent consumers, the Toronto Sun reported. In March 2007, before the global credit crunch started shocking banks around the world, the feds held $9.375 million in their unclaimed bankruptcy fund account. By May 5 of this year that balance had jumped to $13.6 million.

Sea Launch's plans to emerge from bankruptcy under majority Russian ownership are still subject to court and regulatory approval, but company leaders say they expect to resume commercial missions early next year, Spaceflight Now reported. The besieged launch firm filed a plan of reorganization in a Delaware bankruptcy court this week, kicking off several months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between the Sea Launch's new owners and unsecured creditors.

Political leaders and central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic struggled over the weekend to persuade jittery investors that Europe would pull through its sovereign debt crisis, saying that it would be helped by a stronger-than-expected economic recovery in the United States, The New York Times reported.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou declared he is not ruling out taking legal action against U.S. investment banks for their role in creating the spiraling Greek debt crisis. Both the Greek government and its citizens have blamed international banks for fanning the flames of the debt crisis with comments about Greece's likely default, actions that are causing the country's borrowing costs to soar, The Associated Press reported. "I wouldn't rule out that (legal action) might be a recourse.

U.S. navigation device maker Garmin said it would raise its bid for debt-laden Raymarine by more than 16 percent, topping a third-party offer, if the British marine navigation supplier were to enter into administration, Reuters reported. Garmin said it would pay more than 17.5 pence for each share in Raymarine, representing a premium of at least 21 percent to Raymarine's Thursday close. Earlier on Friday, Raymarine said an unnamed third party had walked away from a potential deal but remained willing to reconsider a transaction if Raymarine placed itself with administrators.

AbitibiBowater Inc., the Canadian paper company that sought bankruptcy protection last year to restructure its crushing debt load, won approval to keep sole control of its Chapter 11 case for another two months, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Judge Kevin J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., approved the Montreal-based pulp and paper manufacturer's request for an extension through July 21 of its sole right to file a plan to exit bankruptcy.

Patients will continue to receive their publicly funded knee and hip replacement surgeries at a private medical facility in Calgary until January, but it will come at an additional cost to taxpayers, The Vancouver Sun reported. Alberta Health Services filed an application in Court of Queen's earlier this month in a bid to ward off bankruptcy proceedings caused by a legal dispute between Networc Health — which owns the Health Resource Centre — and one of its creditors, Cambrian Group of Companies.

In the end, the billion-dollar auction of Canada’s largest newspaper chain wasn’t even close. Torstar Corp. and its deep-pocketed financial backer, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. -- once thought to be the favourites to buy the 46 papers that made up the CanWest Global Communications Corp. media empire -- instead placed a distant second in the bidding, The Globe and Mail reported. The winning offer this week came from a group of unsecured creditors who trumped Torstar and Fairfax’s $800-million offer by $300-million. The $1.1-billion bid came from a consortium that includes U.S.

A committee overseeing the remains of Icelandic lender Glitnir Banki Hf has sued several former bank officials and affiliated investors in the United States to recover more than $2 billion, Reuters reported.

Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. has succeeded in its quest to raise GBP105 million ($156 million) to stave off a bank foreclosure on EMI Group, people familiar with the situation said, giving the private-equity firm leverage in its battle with lender Citigroup Inc. over the fate of the legendary music company, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. EMI has until Friday to inform Citi that it has come up with the cash necessary to stave off default in mid-June.