Banco Popolare became the first Italian bank to take up the government's offer of support for its lenders on Tuesday, with newspapers saying it could use the funds to help delist its Italease unit, Reuters reported. Italy's sixth-biggest bank said it had asked the Economy Ministry and the Bank of Italy for permission to issue €1.45 billion ($1.83 billion) of securities under a government-sponsored bond-purchasing scheme. Other leading lenders, including the country's two biggest banks--UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo--have said they would evaluate the programme.

The brutal slew of layoffs in the legal industry continued Tuesday, with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announcing it would let go 300 associates and staff in the United States, Asia and Europe, and DLA Piper slashing 54 lawyers and support staff in Asia in light of the continuing worldwide economic crisis. Orrick said the move was necessary due to the world economic crisis “and the impact of that crisis on our clients and the levels of activity in the world market.” It said the layoffs were unrelated to performance and affected attorneys and staff throughout its offices and practices.

Masonite International Inc, a Canadian doormaker owned by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, said it reached an agreement in principle with committees representing its secured lenders and bondholders on terms of a restructuring plan, Reuters reported. The plan aims to reduce the company's debt from $2.2 billion today to about $300 million. It will also reduce the company's annual cash interest expense by $145 million, Masonite said in a statement.

General Motors Europe said on Wednesday it was prepared to discuss partnerships or outside investment for its Opel unit as pressure mounted on the government in Berlin to help rescue the German brand, Spiegel Online reported. But Chancellor Angela Merkel said Opel must first present a clear restructuring plan before her government can consider giving assistance. GM Europe's United States parent company on Tuesday night announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 47,000 jobs this year and to cut five additional American plants by 2012.

Telecom equipment company Nortel Networks Corp. said Tuesday it has received a bankruptcy protection extension to May 1 from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Associated Press reported. Nortel filed for creditor protection Jan. 14 in Canada and the United States and got an initial 30-day protection period. The Toronto-based company became the first major technology company to take that step in this global downturn. The filing came a day before Nortel was due to make a debt payment of $107 million.

Nortel Networks Corp is working on a "detailed plan" to further cut its global workforce as it restructures under bankruptcy protection, and it will seek to avoid holding an annual shareholder meeting because it says it would be distracting and expensive, Ernst & Young Inc, the monitor overseeing Nortel's bankruptcy protection, said in a court report posted on its website.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has asked the bankruptcy court to let it retain Jones Day as special counsel to help the former financial services company with issues that have arisen in the Asia-Pacific region related to its Chapter 11 case. In a motion filed Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Lehman said the law firm would help it in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Australia with matters related to its bankruptcy filing.

Sakthi Sugars Ltd said on Thursday two of its European units have filed for bankruptcy as required under local laws following an economic slowdown in United States and Europe, which resulted in a drastic reduction in orders, Reuters reported. Sakthi Germany GmbH, a 6th step down subsidiary which operates two plants in the country, and Sakthi Sweden A.B., a 3rd step down unit and a Swedish holding company, have filed for bankruptcy under the laws of the respective countries, it said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The Irish economy, pummeled by the most severe housing bust in Europe, has collapsed, The New York Times reported. Everything, it seems, has grown worse here. The recession started earlier and its bite has been deeper. Housing prices have fallen by as much as 50 percent. Bank shares have plummeted by more than 90 percent. Unemployment is approaching 10 percent. Government policy that chopped taxes in half, sharply reduced import duties and embraced foreign investment gave birth to the Celtic Tiger, perhaps the most open and vibrant economy in Europe.

The Supreme Court (SC) has approved new rules to improve and expedite the court procedures for petitions for rehabilitation or re-organizations of corporations, partnerships and associations in order to help debtors recover from financial difficulties while attempting to ensure fair treatment of creditors, BusinessMirror reported.