The Canadian government will not move to limit interest rates on credit cards, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday, confirming that new credit card rules in Canada will not be as far-reaching as those just introduced in the United States. Flaherty said the government will not limit credit card interest rates because of a belief "in consumer choice", Reuters reported. Read more.

The tug-of-war over the rights to Asarco LLC continues, with parent company Grupo Mexico SAB de CV protesting a bankruptcy court's apparent protection of Sterlite Industries Ltd.'s $1.7 billion bid to acquire the bankrupt copper mining unit, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. While Sterlite appears to have the edge, Grupo Mexico is not out of the running yet to regain control of the indirect subsidiary. Earlier this month, Judge Schmidt extended until Sept.

Mexico is in “very advanced” discussions to make financing available to local units of U.S. automakers if they need help to keep their Mexican plants operating, an Economy Ministry official said. The loans would be made through Mexico’s development bank, known as Nafinsa, and secured by accounts receivable, inventories and possibly assets such as land and machinery, said Lorenza Martinez, undersecretary for industry and commerce.

General Motors Canada has demanded concessions far greater than the Canadian Auto workers granted to Chrysler Canada last month, the union said Friday, as both parties face a looming midnight deadline to reach a cost-cutting labor agreement, The Associated Press reported. The federal and Ontario governments set the deadline for the two sides to agree on a deal to replace a pact that was negotiated in March. The governments have asked the union to give GM Canada the same concessions that it recently gave Chrysler Canada. "It's slow, but we're making progress.

Stanford International Bank Ltd.’s Antiguan receivers can seek relief under U.S. bankruptcy laws for the business U.S. regulators claim was at the heart of an alleged $8 billion fraud by financier R. Allen Stanford, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge David Godbey in Dallas said the receivers appointed to recover bank assets by the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda can pursue relief under Chapter 15, a statutory scheme that enables U.S. courts to assist in bankruptcies pending in other countries.

A Quebec company’s financial troubles are no excuse to renege on a new collective agreement provision for early pension, the Quebec Superior Court has ruled, Canadian Employment Law Today reported. Montreal-based forestry and newsprint company AbitibiBowater negotiated a new collective agreement with its union that changed the company’s retirement policy and pension plan. However, Abitibi experienced financial problems after the signing of the new collective agreement and is currently under bankruptcy protection in both Canada and the United States.

Bankruptcies in Canada soared by over 50 per cent in March from a year ago as the rising unemployment rate left more consumers unable to pay their bills, the Toronto Star reported. At the same time, business bankruptcies declined during the month, according to figures released yesterday by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada. There were 10,578 personal bankruptcies across the country in March, up 17.3 per cent from the month before, and up a staggering 57 per cent from March 2008. The biggest year-over-year increases came from the western provinces.

A superior court judge in Quebec has approved a further $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing for North America's largest newsprint producer, AbitibiBowater Inc., as it navigates joint bankruptcy proceedings in Canada and the U.S., Bankruptcy Law360 reported. The order, which was approved by a judge in Quebec Superior Court on Wednesday, will allow AbitibiBowater to enter a loan agreement with Canada's Bank of Montreal, the company announced. Investissement Quebec, the province's investment agency, will guarantee the $100 million loan, according to AbitibiBowater.

The leader of GM Canada's largest union says a filing by the car maker for court protection from creditors is likely, The Globe and Mail reported. The federal and Ontario governments have ordered the Canadian Auto Workers and General Motors of Canada Ltd. to slash hourly labour costs by May 15. CAW president Ken Lewenza says the company faces liquidation if a cost-saving agreement is not reached. “This is an unbelievable situation,” says Mr. Lewenza, who believes the car maker may have to file for Chapter 11 and CCAA creditor protection.

Tough conditions imposed by the Quebec government as part of its $100 million (U.S.) loan guarantee to insolvent AbitibiBowater Inc. are threatening to derail the company's financial restructuring, The Globe and Mail reported. Mr. Justice Clément Gascon of Quebec Superior Court is expected to issue a ruling today on the loan, which the company insists is crucial to its survival as it restructures under the protection of the Companies Creditors' Arrangement Act in Canada and Chapter 11 laws in the United States.