/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/100423.mbx         T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                           E U R O P E

            Friday, April 23, 2010, Vol. 11, No. 079

                            Headlines



D E N M A R K

BARK GROUP: Marcum LLP Raises Going Concern Doubt


F R A N C E

PEUGEOT CITROEN: Posts EUR14 Bil. Sales Revenue in 1st Qtr. 2010


G E R M A N Y

ARCANDOR AG: Goldman Sachs Mulls Bid for Karstadt Unit
GENERAL MOTORS: Germany Seeks More Details of Opel Restructuring
PREPS 2007-1: Moody's Junks Rating on EUR35MM Notes From 'Ba2'
VYTERIS INC: Lehman Brothers Bankhaus Holds 1.0% of Shares


G R E E C E

* GREECE: May Require Aid of Up to EUR80BB, Bundesbank Head Says
* GREECE: Hedge Fund Balks at Bailout Plans, Warns of EU Breakdown


H U N G A R Y

* HUNGARY: Mandatory Company Liquidations Up 12% in 1Q 2010


I R E L A N D

PALMER SQUARE: S&P Cuts Ratings on Two Classes of Notes to 'CC'
ZOO ABS: S&P Downgrades Ratings on Class D Notes to 'BB+'


I T A L Y

FIAT SPA: Posts EUR25 Mil. Loss in First Quarter 2010
FIAT SPA: Separates CNH, Iveco From Carmaking Business


K A Z A K H S T A N

KAZAKH MORTGAGE: Fitch Maintains 'CCC' Rating on Class C Notes


N E T H E R L A N D S

LYONDELL CHEMICAL: Settles US$7BB in Environmental Claims by U.S.


R O M A N I A

PRINCIPAL COMPANY: Exits Insolvency; Creditors May Appeal


R U S S I A

LSR GROUP: Moody's Reviews 'B3' Corporate Family Rating
MEGAFON OAO: Fitch Affirms Issuer Default Rating at 'BB+'
PROMSVYAZBANK OJSC: S&P Gives Pos. Outlook; Affirms 'B/B' Rating


S L O V A K   R E P U B L I C

SEAGLE AIR: Declared Bankrupt by Court Following Default


S W I T Z E R L A N D

FOSTER WHEELER: S&P Puts 'BB+' Rating on CreditWatch Positive


T U R K E Y

GLOBAL YATIRIM: Fitch Affirms 'B-' Issuer Default Ratings


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ACCUMA GROUP: In Administration; Leonard Curtis Appointed
HIT ENTERTAINMENT: S&P Downgrades Corporate Credit Rating to 'SD'
INMARSAT INVESTMENTS: EIB Deal Won't Affect S&P's 'BB+' Rating
LEHMAN BROTHERS: LBI Proposes Deal with Client Money Claimants
LEHMAN BROTHERS: UK Administrators Gain Control of US$48 Bil.

NORTHERN ROCK: CFO David Jones Steps Down Amid FSA Probe
PORTSMOUTH FOOTBALL: Owes GBP107 Mil. to Creditors, Report Shows
SALTROCK: Bought Out of Administration; 80 Jobs Secured
SESSIONS OF YORK: In Administration; Charterfields Seeks Buyer
VANWALL FINANCE: S&P Downgrades Rating on Class F Notes to 'B'

XERIUM TECHNOLOGIES: Wants Baker & McKenzie as European Counsel

* UK: Construction Sector Insolvencies Down 5% in March 2010


X X X X X X X X

* BOOK REVIEW: Rupert Murdoch: Creator of a Worldwide Empire




                         *********



=============
D E N M A R K
=============


BARK GROUP: Marcum LLP Raises Going Concern Doubt
-------------------------------------------------
Bark Group Inc. filed on April 19, its annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Marcum LLP, in New York, expressed substantial doubt about the
Company's ability to continue as a going concern.  The independent
auditors noted that the Company has not achieved a sufficient
level of revenues to support its business and has suffered
recurring losses from operations.

The Company reported a net loss of US$2,569,000 on US$3,867,000 of
revenue for 2009, compared with a net loss of US$3,197,000 on
US$8,683,000 of revenue for 2008.

The Company's balance sheet as of December 31, 2009, showed
US$9,702,000 in assets, US$11,372,000 of debts, and US$1,301,000
of non-controlling interests, for a stockholders' deficit of
US$2,971,000.

A full-text copy of the annual report is available for free at:

               http://researcharchives.com/t/s?6087

                         About Bark Group

Based in Copenhagen K, Denmark, Bark Group Inc. (OTC BB: BKPG) --
http://bark-group.com/-- formerly Exwal Inc., is a commercial
communication services company that provides integrated
traditional and new media advertising and marketing consulting
services to its clients.  Clients are comprised primarily of
European businesses that range in size from small local businesses
to larger trans-national and multi-national corporations.  These
clients include a range of businesses including financial
institutions and banks, consumer products companies and luxury
goods companies.


===========
F R A N C E
===========


PEUGEOT CITROEN: Posts EUR14 Bil. Sales Revenue in 1st Qtr. 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------
John Reed at The Financial Times reports that PSA Peugeot
Citroen posted first-quarter group sales revenue of EUR14 billion
(US$18.8 billion), 27.5% higher than a year ago.

According to the FT, sales at Peugeot's core automotive division
were 22.4% higher at EUR10.6 billion, helped by the strong
performance of its new Citroen C3 supermini car and Peugeot 3008
crossover vehicle and 5008 compact people mover.

The French carmaker said that its share of the European car and
light commercial vehicle market grew to 14.6% in the first
quarter, from 13.5% a year earlier.

The FT relates Peugeot said it expected to report "significant
recurring operating income" for the first half of this year,
including a positive contribution from its automotive division.
When reporting its full-year financial results in February,
Peugeot had only said that it would report operating profit in the
first half of 2010, the FT notes.

Peugeot, as cited by the FT, said that it still expected the
overall European car market to contract by about 9% this year.

PSA Peugeot Citroen S.A. -- http://www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/
-- is a France-based manufacturer of passenger cars and light
commercial vehicles.  It produces vehicles under the Peugeot and
Citroen brands.  In addition to its automobile division, the
Company includes Banque PSA Finance, which supports the sale of
Peugeot and Citroen vehicles by financing new vehicle and
replacement parts inventory for dealers and offering financing and
related services to car buyers; Faurecia, an automotive equipment
manufacturer focused on four component families: seats, vehicle
interior, front end and exhaust systems; Gefco, which offers
logistics services covering the entire supply chain, including
overland, sea and air transport, industrial logistics, container
management, vehicle preparation and distribution, and customs and
value added tax (VAT) representation, and Peugeot Motocycles,
which manufactures scooters and motorcycles.  In 2008, PSA Peugeot
Citroen S.A. sold over 3.2 million vehicles in 150 countries
worldwide.

                           *     *     *

PSA Peugeot Citroen is rated BB+ by Standard & Poor's.


=============
G E R M A N Y
=============


ARCANDOR AG: Goldman Sachs Mulls Bid for Karstadt Unit
------------------------------------------------------
Goldman Sachs is considering a takeover of the remains of Arcandor
AG's insolvent German department store chain Karstadt if no other
investor emerges, Eva Kuehnen at Reuters reports, citing two
sources familiar with the situation.

Goldman Sachs as well as Deutsche Bank is part of the Highstreet
consortium, which owns about two-thirds of Karstadt's store space,
Reuters discloses.

"Is increasingly looking like Highstreet is keeping this option
open as a last resort," Reuters quoted one of the sources as
saying on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, another source said Goldman would look for a
co-investor if it decided to bid for Karstadt.

Reuters notes another source close to the insolvency administrator
Klaus-Hubert Goerg said that Mr. Goerg expected at least one bid
for Karstadt by Friday -- the deadline for potential Karstadt
bids.

                        About Arcandor AG

Germany-based Arcandor AG (FRA:ARO) -- http://www.arcandor.com/--
formerly KarstadtQuelle AG, is a tourism and retail group.  Its
three core business areas are tourism, mail order services and
department store retail.  The Company's business areas are covered
by its three operating segments: Thomas Cook, Primondo and
Karstadt.  Thomas Cook Group plc is a tour operator with
operations in Europe and North America, set up as a result of a
merger between MyTravel and Thomas Cook AG.  It also operates the
e-commerce platform, Thomas Cook, supporting travel services.
Primondo has a portfolio of European universal and specialty mail
order companies, including the core brand Quelle.  Karstadt
operates a range of department stores, such as cosmopolitan
stores, including KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), Karstadt
Oberpollinger and Alsterhaus; Karstadt brand department stores;
Karstadt sports department stores, offering sports goods in a
variety of retail outlets, and a portal, karstadt.de that offers
online shopping, among others.

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe, a local court
in Essen formally opened insolvency proceedings for Arcandor on
September 1, 2009.  The proceedings started for the Arcandor
holding company and for 14 units, including the Karstadt
department-store chain and Primondo mail-order division.

Arcandor filed for bankruptcy protection after the German
government turned down its request for loan guarantees.  On
June 8, 2009, the government rejected two applications for help by
the company, which employs 43,000 people.  The retailer sought
loan guarantees of EUR650 million (US$904 million) from Germany's
Economy Fund program.  It also sought a further EUR437 million
from a state-owned bank.


GENERAL MOTORS: Germany Seeks More Details of Opel Restructuring
----------------------------------------------------------------
The German state expects General Motors Co.'s Opel division to
provide details by the end of April on the banks involved in
financing a wide-ranging restructuring before deciding on possible
state aid, Nico Schmidt and Christoph Rauwald at Dow Jones
Newswires report, citing a government document.

According to Dow Jones, the document said the examination of
Opel's request for state aid "is ongoing."  Dow Jones notes it
said "that the requested EUR1.5 billion in state support has
according to press statements been lowered to EUR1.3 billion in
the meantime . . . A respective change to the request hasn't been
presented."

GM is seeking state aid totaling EUR1.8 billion in Europe, with
Germany accounting for between 50% and 60%, to help finance a
wide-ranging turnaround plan of Opel and its U.K. sister brand
Vauxhall, Dow Jones discloses.

                       About General Motors

General Motors Company -- http://www.gm.com/-- is one of the
world's largest automakers, tracing its roots back to 1908.  With
its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in
every major region of the world and does business in some 140
countries.  GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks
in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through these
brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel,
Vauxhall and Wuling.  GM's largest national market is the United
States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada,
Russia and Germany.  GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader
in vehicle safety, security and information services.

GM acquired its operations from General Motors Company, n/k/a
Motors Liquidation Company, on July 10, 2009, pursuant to a sale
under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.  Motors Liquidation or
Old GM is the subject of a pending Chapter 11 reorganization case
before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York.

At December 31, 2009, GM had total assets of US$136.295 billion
against total liabilities of US$107.340 billion.  At December 31,
2009, total equity was US$21.249 million.

                    About Motors Liquidation

General Motors Corporation and three of its affiliates filed for
Chapter 11 protection on June 1, 2009 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case
No. 09-50026).  General Motors changed its name to Motors
Liquidation Co. following the sale of its key assets to a company
60.8% owned by the U.S. Government.

The Honorable Robert E. Gerber presides over the Chapter 11 cases.
Harvey R. Miller, Esq., Stephen Karotkin, Esq., and Joseph H.
Smolinsky, Esq., at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, assist the Debtors
in their restructuring efforts.  Al Koch at AP Services, LLC, an
affiliate of AlixPartners, LLP, serves as the Chief Executive
Officer for Motors Liquidation Company.  GM is also represented by
Jenner & Block LLP and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP as
counsel.  Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP is providing legal advice
to the GM Board of Directors.  GM's financial advisors are Morgan
Stanley, Evercore Partners and the Blackstone Group LLP.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes General Motors
Bankruptcy News.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by General Motors Corp. and its various affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


PREPS 2007-1: Moody's Junks Rating on EUR35MM Notes From 'Ba2'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded its ratings of two
classes of notes issued by Preps 2007-1 plc.

* EUR186M A1, Downgraded to Ba1; previously on May 21, 2009
  Downgraded to Aa2

* EUR35M B1, Downgraded to Caa3; previously on May 21, 2009
  Downgraded to Ba2

Preps 2007-1 is a European mezzanine finance CLO with a portfolio
of subordinated loans to obligors predominantly located in
Germany.  The pool is concentrated with the five largest exposures
comprising 24.6% of the pool.  The transaction has suffered
EUR49 million in defaults (19.8% of the initial pool),
EUR40.5 million of which have occurred since the previous rating
action.  The Principal Deficiency Ledger is currently
EUR39.15 million, it was paid down by approximately
EUR1.46 million on the last payment date in March 2010.  The
remaining assets in the portfolio have also suffered credit
deterioration, with now 17.3% of the portfolio estimated to be Ba1
or below by the Riskcalc model used to assess the assets as per
the investor report dated 7 March 2010.

The action relies on financial data received annually for a
majority of obligors in the pool from the end of 2008.  This
financial data is used by Moody's in order to assess the credit
quality of obligors in the pool, relying on RiskCalc, an
econometric model developed by Moody's KMV.  The results obtained
from the Riskcalc model have been translated to Moody's rating
scale and adjusted by one notch where necessary in order to
compensate for the absence of credit indicators such as rating
reviews, outlooks and adjustments factoring in cyclical
developments in the economy.  Moody's also incorporated
information provided by the manager in the latest investor report
to account for more recent information on the performance of the
underlying obligors.  Furthermore, various additional scenarios
have been considered for the analysis and include the application
of stresses applicable to concentrated pools with non publicly
rated issuers, as outlined in Moody's Methodology, "Updated
approach to the usage of credit estimates in rated transactions"
(October 2009).

The deal was modeled using CDOROM 2.5 to create a loss
distribution that was then used as an input in a cash flow model.


VYTERIS INC: Lehman Brothers Bankhaus Holds 1.0% of Shares
----------------------------------------------------------
Lehman Brothers Bankhaus AG (i. Ins.) disclosed holding 607,002
shares or roughly 1.0% of the common stock of Vyteris, Inc., as of
March 30, 2010.

Fair Lawn, N.J.-based Vyteris, Inc. (OTC BB: VYTR)
-- http://www.vyteris.com/-- has developed and produced the first
FDA-approved, electronically controlled transdermal drug delivery
system that transports drugs through the skin comfortably, without
needles.

The Company's balance sheet as of December 31, 2009, showed
$2.6 million in assets and US$11.4 million of debts, for a
stockholders' deficit of US$8.8 million.

Amper, Politziner & Mattia, LLP, in Edison, N.J., expressed
substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a
going concern.  The independent auditors noted that the Company
has incurred recurring losses and is dependent upon obtaining
sufficient additional financing to fund operations and has not
been able to meet all of its obligations as they become due.


===========
G R E E C E
===========


* GREECE: May Require Aid of Up to EUR80BB, Bundesbank Head Says
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bundesbank President Axel Weber told a group of German lawmakers
Monday that Greece may require financial assistance of as much as
EUR80 billion (US$107.92 billion) to escape its debt crisis and
avoid default, David Crawford at Dow Jones Newswires reports,
citing a person familiar with the matter.

Dow Jones says the estimate, considerably more than the EUR45
billion that European countries and the International Monetary
Fund are currently prepared to extend Greece this year if it needs
a bailout, suggests that a rescue of the country may come in
several stages and reach beyond 2010.

According to Dow Jones, the person said Mr. Weber, a member of the
European Central Bank's governing council and a leading candidate
to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet as ECB president next year, told
the legislators that Greece's situation was worsening and that
"the numbers are changing all the time."

Dow Jones relates Mr. Weber told the gathering on Monday, which
included lawmakers from the center-right Free Democrats, that he
saw "no alternative" to a rescue of Greece at this point.


* GREECE: Hedge Fund Balks at Bailout Plans, Warns of EU Breakdown
------------------------------------------------------------------
Alistair Barr at MarketWatch reports that Moore Capital -- a
global macro hedge-fund firm run by Louis Moore Bacon -- warned of
a "potential breakdown" of the European Monetary Union and
criticized plans to bail out Greece.

"Perhaps the most interesting area for the foreseeable future is
in the potential breakdown of the European Monetary Union," Mr.
Bacon wrote in an investor letter, dated April 16, which was
obtained by MarketWatch.

According to MarketWatch, Mr. Bacon wrote, "Instead of punishing
the Greeks for their free-rider and fraudulent gaming of the
Maastricht rules -- either by ejecting Greece from the Union to
propel them to reform and come back at a competitive exchange rate
or by forcing them to restructure their debt within the confines
of monetary union, either of which would have eventually
strengthened and solidified the euro -- the European leaders have
decided to reward the prodigal Greeks with a bailout, socializing
their ills and taxing once again the prodigious Northern European
workers."

According to MarketWatch, Mr. Bacon warned that the bailout could
have "disastrous consequences" for the European Union and Europe.
Mr. Bacon explained that when sovereign-wealth funds "finally
realize what they own, they may stand aside."  Mr. Bacon said,
"The euro will find a new level while these large funds instead
seek currencies in the emerging markets where solvency is not such
an issue."


=============
H U N G A R Y
=============


* HUNGARY: Mandatory Company Liquidations Up 12% in 1Q 2010
-----------------------------------------------------------
IntelliNews Today, citing data from French credit consultancy
Coface, reports that mandatory company liquidations in Hungary
were up by 12% y/y in the first quarter of 2010.

According to the report, the number of voluntary liquidations was
also up but at a more moderate pace of 9% y/y for the period and
accounted for a little less than half of the total liquidation
cases.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============


PALMER SQUARE: S&P Cuts Ratings on Two Classes of Notes to 'CC'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its credit ratings on
Palmer Square PLC's class A1-AE, A1-A, A1-B, A2-A, A2-B, B-1, and
B-2 notes.  At the same time, S&P removed the class A1-AE, A1-A,
A1-B, A2-A, and A2-B notes from CreditWatch negative.  The ratings
on classes C-1, C-2, D-1, and D-2 remain unaffected.

The rating actions reflect S&P's assessment of a continuing
deterioration in the credit quality of the underlying asset
portfolio comprising largely U.S. prime and subprime residential
mortgage-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations,
collateralized debt obligations of structured finance assets, and
other structured finance securities.

According to S&P's analysis, assets rated below investment-grade
(below 'BBB-') account for about 50% of the total portfolio.  In
its analysis, S&P considers about 14% of those as defaulted.
S&P's analysis also shows that there is no credit enhancement
available for any of the rated classes of notes.  According to the
information the trustee provided to us, all of the transaction's
overcollateralization ratio tests continued to decline since S&P's
last review in October 2009 and remain at levels substantially
below 100%.  According to the transaction documents, a breach of
an overcollateralization test requires that available proceeds are
used to repay the notes in their order of seniority, starting with
the class A1 notes.

As per the latest available trustee report of March 2010, the
class A and B interest coverage tests are failing their respective
trigger levels.  As a result, and as S&P see from the March 2010
note valuation report, the transaction is using principal proceeds
to pay interest on the nondeferrable classes: A1-AE, A1-A, A1-B,
A2-A, and A2-B.  Consequently, interest payments due to the class
B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, D-1, and D-2 notes continued to be deferred.
In S&P's view, full payment of interest and principal on the class
B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, D-1, and D-2 notes is highly unlikely.

As a result of these developments S&P has lowered its ratings on
the class A1-AE, A1-A, A1-B, A2-A, A2-B, B-1, and B-2 notes.

S&P also note that the transaction triggered an event of default
in February 2009 due to the failure of the class A-1 event of
default overcollateralization ratio test.  Due to an oversight,
when S&P last took rating action in October 2009 S&P did not take
this event of default into account in light of S&P's new criteria.

As such, at that time S&P should have lowered the ratings on the
senior A1-AE, A1-A, A1-B classes to 'BB' and the ratings on the
A2-A and A2-B classes to 'CCC'.  S&P has now considered the event
of default in its analysis, although, due to the reasons S&P give
above, the ratings are now lower.

                          Ratings List

                        Palmer Square PLC
        US$1.255 Billion Asset-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

      Ratings Lowered and Removed From Creditwatch Negative

                              Rating
                              ------
           Class       To               From
           -----       --               ----
           A1-A        CCC-             BBB+/Watch Neg
           A1-B        CCC-             BBB+/Watch Neg
           A1-AE       CCC-             BBB+/Watch Neg
           A2-A        CCC-             B-/Watch Neg
           A2-B        CCC-             B-/Watch Neg

                          Ratings Lowered

                                    Rating
                                    ------
                 Class       To               From
                 -----       --               ----
                 B-1         CC               CCC-
                 B-2         CC               CCC-

                        Ratings Unaffected

                        Class       Rating
                        -----       ------
                        C-1         CC
                        C-2         CC
                        D-1         CC
                        D-2         CC


ZOO ABS: S&P Downgrades Ratings on Class D Notes to 'BB+'
---------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its credit ratings on
ZOO ABS 4 PLC's class C and D notes.  At the same time, S&P
affirmed its ratings on classes A1R, A1A, A1B, A-2, B, and E and
removed the class E notes from CreditWatch negative.

The rating actions follow S&P's assessment of the deterioration
that S&P has observed in the credit quality of the underlying
portfolio.  This includes an increase in the percentage of assets
rated below investment-grade (below 'BBB-') since the closing date
of the transaction in April 2007.  According to S&P's analysis,
28% of assets are currently rated below investment grade.  This
percentage includes adjustments S&P has made to the ratings on
those assets that are currently on CreditWatch negative.

S&P's analysis indicates that the portfolio contains about 5% of
assets on CreditWatch negative.  On April 6, 2009, S&P published
revised assumptions governing structured finance assets with
ratings on CreditWatch held within collateralized debt obligation
transactions.  Under these revised assumptions, S&P adjust ratings
on CreditWatch downward by at least three notches.

In S&P's view, there has been an increase in the proportion of
assets in the portfolio rated 'CCC+' and lower, which now account
for 3.5% of the portfolio compared with zero at closing.  Out of
those, 0.5% are considered as defaulted in S&P's analysis, i.e.,
they are rated 'CC' or 'D'.

The deterioration in credit quality of the underlying portfolio
has, according to S&P's analysis, increased the scenario default
rate to an extent where, in S&P's view, the credit enhancement on
classes C and D is no longer sufficient to maintain their previous
ratings.  S&P has therefore lowered the ratings on these notes.

S&P is affirming the ratings on the class A1R, A1A, A1B, A2, B,
and E notes, as S&P believes there is sufficient credit
enhancement available to support the existing ratings on these
notes.  S&P note that the transaction's current asset balance
exceeds the target par amount by about 3.8%.  This increase is
largely due to the purchase of assets at a discount to par.

In addition, from the latest available trustee report of March 29,
2010, S&P note that the transaction breached its class E
overcollateralization ratio test.  However, the manager has
informed us, that this breach is currently cured.  As per the
latest available trustee report, the transaction is passing its
weighted-average spread test.  The transaction structure
incorporates a class E turbo redemption, which is applicable after
the reinvestment period, whereby 20% of excess interest proceeds
are used to repay the principal balance of the class E notes.

                           Ratings List

                          ZOO ABS 4 PLC
               EUR514.2 Million Floating-Rate Notes

                         Ratings Lowered

                                   Rating
                                   ------
                Class        To              From
                -----        --              ----
                C            BBB+            A
                D            BB+             BBB-

       Rating Affirmed and Removed From CreditWatch Negative

                               Rating
                               ------
            Class        To              From
            -----        --              ----
            E            BB-             BB-/Watch Neg

                        Ratings Affirmed

                      Class        Rating
                      -----        ------
                      A-1R         AAA
                      A-1A         AAA
                      A-1B         AAA
                      A-2          AAA
                      B            AA


=========
I T A L Y
=========


FIAT SPA: Posts EUR25 Mil. Loss in First Quarter 2010
-----------------------------------------------------
BBC News reports that Fiat SpA made a loss of EUR25 million
(US$33.4 million) for the first quarter of the year.

According to BBC, the Fiat's US subsidiary Chrysler lost a further
US$197 million -- adding to the massive US$3.8 billion it lost
following bankruptcy last year.

BBC says despite the losses, Fiat said its sales -- which include
trucks and farming equipment alongside cars -- were up nearly 15%
on the same period last year.

Fiat is due to outline a new five-year business plan later,
outlining closer integration with Chrysler, BBC notes.

                          About Fiat SpA

Headquartered in Turin, Italy, Fiat SpA (BIT:F) --
http://www.fiatgroup.com/-- is principally engaged in the design,
manufacture and sale of automobiles, trucks, wheel loaders,
excavators, telehandlers, tractors and combine harvesters.
Through its subsidiaries, Fiat operates mainly in five business
areas: Automobiles, including sectors led by Maserati SpA, Ferrari
SpA and Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, which design, produce and sell
cars under the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Fiat Professional,
Abarth, Ferrari and Maserati brands; Agricultural and Construction
Equipment, which is led by Case New Holland Global NV; Trucks and
Commercial Vehicles, which is led by Iveco SpA; Components and
Production Systems, which includes the sectors led by Magneti
Marelli Holding SpA, Teksid SpA, Comau SpA and Fiat Powertrain
Technologies SpA, and Other Businesses, which includes the sectors
led by Fiat Services SpA, a publishing house Editrice La Stampa
SpA and an advertising agency Publikompass SpA.  With operations
in over 190 countries, the Group has 203 plants, 118 research
centers, 633 companies and more than 198,000 employees.

                           *     *     *

Fiat S.p.A. continues to carry a Ba1 long-term rating from Moody's
Investors Service with negative outlook.


FIAT SPA: Separates CNH, Iveco From Carmaking Business
------------------------------------------------------
Sara Gay Forden and Marco Bertacche at Bloomberg News report that
Fiat SpA will separate its agricultural and truckmaking units from
carmaking by the end of the year.

Bloomberg relates Fiat on Wednesday said the spinoff will separate
CNH Global NV, Iveco and the industrial and marine operations
under Fiat Powertrain into a new company called Fiat Industrial
SpA, leaving Fiat Auto and car components businesses, including
engines, in Fiat.  Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne
will run the car business, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg notes the company expects revenue at Fiat Auto to rise
to EUR51 billion (US$68 billion) in 2014 from EUR26.3 billion last
year.

Fiat Vice Chairman John Elkann, an heir to the Agnelli family,
will succeed Luca Cordero di Montezemolo as chairman, Bloomberg
discloses.  Mr. Elkann will also become chairman of the automotive
operations, while Mr. Marchionne will be chairman of Fiat
Industrial, Bloomberg states.  The individual units will retain
their management, Bloomberg notes.

Mr. Marchionne, as cited by Bloomberg, said the separation will
make it easier to seek future opportunities through alliances and
partnerships.

                           About Fiat SpA

Headquartered in Turin, Italy, Fiat SpA (BIT:F) --
http://www.fiatgroup.com/-- is principally engaged in the design,
manufacture and sale of automobiles, trucks, wheel loaders,
excavators, telehandlers, tractors and combine harvesters.
Through its subsidiaries, Fiat operates mainly in five business
areas: Automobiles, including sectors led by Maserati SpA, Ferrari
SpA and Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, which design, produce and sell
cars under the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Fiat Professional,
Abarth, Ferrari and Maserati brands; Agricultural and Construction
Equipment, which is led by Case New Holland Global NV; Trucks and
Commercial Vehicles, which is led by Iveco SpA; Components and
Production Systems, which includes the sectors led by Magneti
Marelli Holding SpA, Teksid SpA, Comau SpA and Fiat Powertrain
Technologies SpA, and Other Businesses, which includes the sectors
led by Fiat Services SpA, a publishing house Editrice La Stampa
SpA and an advertising agency Publikompass SpA.  With operations
in over 190 countries, the Group has 203 plants, 118 research
centers, 633 companies and more than 198,000 employees.

                           *     *     *

Fiat S.p.A. continues to carry a Ba1 long-term rating from Moody's
Investors Service with negative outlook.


===================
K A Z A K H S T A N
===================


KAZAKH MORTGAGE: Fitch Maintains 'CCC' Rating on Class C Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has maintained all classes of notes issued by Kazakh
Mortgage Backed Securities 2007-I B.V. on Rating Watch Negative.
At the same time, Fitch has revised the Loss Severity Rating for
the class B notes to 'LS-2' from 'LS-1'.  The rating actions are:

  -- Class A (ISIN XS0293196266): 'BB+'; remains on RWN; Loss
     Severity Rating 'LS-1'

  -- Class B (ISIN XS0293196696): 'B'; remains on RWN; Loss
     Severity Rating revised to 'LS-2' from 'LS-1'

  -- Class C (ISIN XS0293196779): 'CCC'; remains on RWN; Recovery
     Rating 'RR4'

Kazakh MBS is a securitization of mortgage loans originated by BTA
Ipoteka, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BTA Bank (rated 'RD').

Fitch has decided to maintain the RWN for all classes of notes as
Kazakh MBS continues to remain exposed to potential operational
disruptions and a potential rapid deterioration in performance in
the event the current servicer enters liquidation.  The recent
letter received by the trustee from the transaction back-up
servicer, Halyk Bank ('B+'/Stable/'B'), suggests that the back-up
servicer would be unable at this point to take over the servicing
operations in a BTAI liquidation scenario.  As a result, if BTAI
were to go into liquidation the transaction would be exposed to a
period during which it would not receive any collections.  The
extent of this period would depend on the trustee's ability to
convince the current back-up servicer to take over the servicing
operations, or to find a suitable replacement servicer.  At this
point, Fitch cannot estimate the length of the time during which
the transaction would not have a servicer, or by which a
replacement servicer could be found.  As a result, the agency has
decided to maintain the RWN for all classes of notes as a servicer
liquidation event would likely trigger negative rating actions.

Fitch has run a stress test assuming a 3% servicing fee and
disruptions in collections for a period of 12 months.  The model
results have revealed that the transaction can withstand such
stresses due to the available liquidity support.  Kazakh MBS
benefits from a cash reserve which amounts to US$3.5m as well as
from a liquidity facility sized at US$4.2m and provided by ABN
Amro Bank ('A+'/Stable/'F1+').  The liquidity facility is able to
cover more than 15 months of senior fees and note interest
payments assuming that they remain at the current levels.

The reported performance continues to be in line with agency's
expectations due to BTAI's initiative to systematically repurchase
performing and non-performing loans from the transaction.  As a
result, the current cumulative defaults are equal to only 0.2% of
the closing pool.  Fitch has noticed a dramatic reduction in
repurchases in the past quarter due to the current financial
difficulties experienced by BTAI.  As such, the agency expects
default levels to increase in the coming months.

The transaction has deleveraged by more than 75% since closing,
leading to a rapid increase in the credit enhancement levels for
all classes of notes.  The current credit enhancement levels are:
class A-43.1%, class B-22.8% and class C-10.0%.  As a comparison,
the credit enhancement levels at closing were class A-15.5%, class
B-7.5% and class C-2.5%.

Fitch will continue to monitor the transaction and take
appropriate rating actions if necessary.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================


LYONDELL CHEMICAL: Settles US$7BB in Environmental Claims by U.S.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lyondell Chemical Co. and its units seek the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court's permission to enter into a settlement agreement with the
United States of America; certain state environmental agencies
from the states of California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas; and a trustee under the
Environmental Custodial Trust.

Christopher R. Mirick, Esq., at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP,
in New York, tells the Court that the Settlement Agreement
resolves multiple environmental claims and liabilities asserted by
the federal and state governments totaling US$7 billion.  He
reminds
the Court that the federal and state government agencies filed
proofs of claim against certain of the Debtors asserting various
environmental claims and liabilities totaling US$5.5 billion.  The
asserted Claims are:

Agency                            Claim No.           Claim Amt.
------                            ---------           ----------
California Regional Water Quality 12788, 12789, 12790,         -
Control Board of the Los Angeles  12790, 12791, 12792,
Region -- LA Regional Board --    12793, 12974, 12795

California State Water Resources  12796, 12797, 12798,
Control Board -- California       12799, 12800, 12801,
State Board --                    12802, 12803

Michigan Department of Natural           12483     US$360,296,257
Resources and the Environment                   to US$408,696,257
and the Michigan Natural
Resource Trustees -- Settling
Michigan Agencies --

U.S. Environmental Protection     11940, 11941, 12968,
Agency, the U.S. Department of    12969, 12970, 12971,
the Interior and the National     12972, 12973, 12974,
Oceanic and Atmospheric           279491
Administration -- Settling
Federal Agencies --

California Department of Toxic     12866, 12873
US$24,876,506
Substance Control -- California
DTSC --                                 12867
US$10,890,000

North Carolina Division of               4430
US$6,495,010
Waste Management -- NCDWM --

Texas Commission on Environmental        8183                   -
Quality -- TCEQ --

Illinois Environmental Protection       13031                   -
Agency and the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources --
State of Illinois Natural Resources
Trustees --

The Debtors previously objected to the Claims.  The U.S., the LA
Regional Board, the California State Board, and the California
DTSC asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York to withdraw the reference to the Bankruptcy Court as to
the Objections.  In March 2010, the District Court denied the
Motion to Withdraw the Reference as moot upon suggestion of
settlement, but provided that any party to the Motion to Withdraw
the Reference could restore the matter to the District Court's
calendar within 60 days.

Pursuant to the Debtors' Third Amended Joint Plan of
Reorganization, the Environmental Custodial Trust is created to
own certain real property, free and clear of all liens for the
benefit of the U.S.; the California Regional Water Quality
Control Board, Central Valley Region; the State of Illinois;
EIPA; the Maryland Department of the Environment; MDNRE; NCDWM;
the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania; and the TCEQ.

The Transferred Real Properties consist of these parcels: the
Allied Paper Mill property in Michigan; the Beaver Valley
property in Pennsylvania; the Bully Hill; Rising Star and
Excelsior Mine properties in California; the Charlotte property
in North Carolina; the Gypsum Pile property in Illinois; the
Saint Helena property in Maryland; and the Turtle Bayou property
in Texas.

The salient terms of the Settlement Agreement are:

  (A) The allowance as general unsecured claims of the claims
      filed by the:

      -- the U.S. on behalf of the EPA, aggregating
         US$1,011,144,336;

      -- the U.S. on behalf of the "Federal Trustees,"
         aggregating US$124,731,125;

      -- the U.S. on behalf of the DOI, aggregating US$20,529;

      -- California DTSC, aggregating US$7,000,000;

      -- California Central Valley Regional Board, aggregating
         US$1,000,000;

      -- LA Regional Board, aggregating US$5,000,000;

      -- State of Illinois Natural Resource Trustees, for
         US$955,161; and

      -- Settling Michigan Agencies for US$30,067,687.

  (B) The allocation of the funds to be transferred to the
      Environmental Custodial Trust pursuant to an Environmental
      Custodial Trust Agreement:

      * US$53,721,850 for the Allied Paper Mill Transferred Real
         Property;

      * US$2,000,000 for the Beaver Valley Transferred Real
        Property;

      * US$8,000,000 for the Bully Hill, Rising Star, and
        Excelsior Mines Transferred Real Properties;

      * US$5,300,000 for the Charlotte Transferred Real Property;

      * US$1,100,000 for the Gypsum Pile Transferred Real
        Property;

      * US$10,000,000 for the Saint Helena Transferred Real
        Property;

      * US$6,800,000 for the Turtle Bayou Transferred Real
        Property; and

      * US$21,500,000 for administrative expenses of the
        Environmental Custodial Trust;

  (C) Cash payments and distributions to the:

      (a) United States on behalf of the EPA, aggregating
          US$53,628,150;

      (b) California DTSC, for US$4,000,000;

      (c) LA Regional Board, for 3,500,000; and

      (d) California Central Valley Regional Board, for US$500,000
          to resolve Debtors' injunctive obligations as alleged
          by the Settling Agencies.

  (D) The creation of procedures for the determination of
      liability and the satisfaction of any claims against the
      Debtors that may arise out of certain additional sites and
      reserved additional sites.  Additional Sites are sites not
      owned or operated by a Debtor that were listed on the
      Debtors' Statements of Financial Affairs, but were not the
      subject of a proof of claim filed by the relevant
      government agency.

  (E) The payment to the United States, the Settling California
      Agencies, the State of Illinois Natural Resource Trustees,
      and the Settling Michigan Agencies, as applicable, of 70%
      of any insurance proceeds that the Debtors may recover on
      account of any liquidated site exceeding the Debtors'
      costs of pursuing those insurance proceeds.

  (F) The resolution and satisfaction of the Debtors'
      obligations to perform work pursuant to any outstanding
      Consent Decree, Unilateral Administrative Order, Agreed
      Order, Administrative Order on Consent, or permit
      regarding any of the Transferred Real Properties and the
      removal of the Debtors as a party to those orders,
      decrees, or permits;

  (G) The withdrawal of the Objections to the U.S., California
      DTSC, the California State Board, and the LA Regional
      Board Proofs of Claim;

  (H) The withdrawal of the U.S. and the Settling
      California Agencies' Motion to Withdraw the Reference.

  (I) The covenant by the EPA, the States, Federal Trustees,
      TCEQ, not to file a civil action or to take any
      administrative or other civil action against the Debtors
      or the "Custodial Trust Parties" under Section 106 or 107
      of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
      and Liability Act, and Section 7002 or 7003 of the
      Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or any similar
      state laws with respect to each of the Liquidated Sites
      and Transferred Real Properties.

  (J) The covenant not to sue and agreement not to assert or
      pursue any claims or causes of action by the Debtors and
      the Environmental Custodial Trust Trustee against the
      U.S. and the States with respect to the Liquidated Sites
      or Transferred Real Properties and the cash payments set
      forth in the Settlement Agreement.

  (K) The protection of the Debtors and the Custodial Trust
      Parties from contribution actions or claims as provided by
      Section 113(f)(2) of CERCLA.

  (L) The release of all financial assurance maintained by the
      Debtors at Liquidated Sites or Transferred Real
      Properties, within 30 days after the Debtors transfer all
      funds pursuant to the Settlement Agreement.

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the Debtors and the
Environmental Custodial Trust Beneficiaries have agreed to
appoint Jay A. Steinberg of Le Petomane XXIII, Inc. as the
Environmental Custodial Trust Trustee.

Mr. Mirick stresses that the Settlement Agreement resolves about
US$5.5 billion of asserted claims against the Debtors for allowed
general unsecured claims for US$1.18 billion.  The creation of the
Environmental Custodial Trust, and its funding for
US$108.4 million, removes nine properties, which are subject to
significant environmental liabilities, from the Debtors' estates,
he further notes.  More importantly, the Settlement Agreement
reflects a substantial compromise of the legal positions of
federal and state government entities, and the legal
position of the Debtors, he asserts.  Absent the Settlement
Agreement, the Debtors will have to expend significant resources
litigating these disputes, potentially causing delay to their
reorganization, and with no assurance that the Debtors will
succeed at trial, he maintains.

              U.S. Files Notice in Federal Register

The U.S. asks the Bankruptcy Court to not approve the Settlement
Agreement at this time.

Counsel to the U.S., Pierre G. Armand, Esq., assistant U.S.
attorneys, in New York -- pierre.armand@usdoj.gov -- relates that
the notice of the lodging of the Settlement Agreement will be
published in the Federal Register, after which the U.S.
Department of Justice will accept public comments on the
Settlement Agreement for a 15-day period.  In addition, the
States will accept public comments on the Settlement Agreement
during the same 15-day period.  After the conclusion of the
comment period, the U.S. and the States will file with the
Bankruptcy Court any comments received, as well as responses to
the comments, and at that time, if appropriate, will seek the
Bankruptcy Court's approval of the Settlement Agreement.

The Bankruptcy Court will consider the Debtors' request on
April 23.  Objections are due April 14.

                     Georgia-Pacific Objects

Georgia-Pacific, LLC complains that the 15-day period for public
comment and review of the Settlement Agreement violates the
timeframe under CERCLA.  Mark A. Broude, Esq., at Latham & Watkins
LLP, in New York -- mark.broude@lw.com -- counsel to Georgia-
Pacific, asserts that the CERCLA requires a 30-day notice period
for public comment.  Neither the EPA nor the Debtors can ignore
that statutory requirement, was designed to give aggrieved non-
parties like Georgia-Pacific a sufficient opportunity to review
and comment on settlements that could negatively impact them, he
argues.  For this reason, the U.S. is without authority to enter
into the Settlement Agreement, he tells the Court.

Mr. Broude further contends that the Debtors' Settlement Agreement
Motion is silent on the legal standards for the approval of the
Settlement Agreement under the CERCLA, and yet, it is clear that
the Settlement Agreement must comply with the CERCLA's
requirements.

Thus, Georgia-Pacific asks the Bankruptcy Court to deny the
Debtors' Settlement Agreement Motion.  Georgia-Pacific further
asks the Bankruptcy Court to adjourn the April 23 hearing on the
Settlement Agreement Motion and direct the U.S. to comply with the
30-day minimum public comment period through a publication of a
new 30-day Notice in the Federal Register or an extension of the
existing Notice.

                   Kalamazoo River Advocates
               Seek Justification on CleanUp Amount

Advocates of Kalamazoo River, in Michigan want federal officials
to explain how they determined US$53.7 million was enough to clean
up the Allied landfill, Chris Killian of mlive.com reports.

The Allied Landfill is among the properties subject to the
proposed Settlement Agreement, whereby the Debtors agreed to pay
about US$162 million to settling state environmental agencies.

"The agreement provides no information on how these sums were
arrived at," Robert Whitesides, treasurer of the watershed council
was quoted by mlive.com as saying.

According to the report, the council intends to send a letter to
the Justice Department requesting the agency to hold a public
meeting in Kalamazoo before April 23.  The council will use the
meeting to (i) lobby for more funding on the landfill cleanup and
(ii) seek justification of the cleanup amount from the federal
officials, mlive.com discloses.

The bankruptcy of the Debtors delayed the cleanup of the Kalamazoo
River, Tiffany Kary of Bloomberg News reports.  The Debtors
previously objected to certain claims filed by state environmental
agencies, including a US$2.5 billion in cleanup costs asserted by
EPA for the Kalamazoo River.

                      About Lyondell Chemical

LyondellBasell Industries is one of the world's largest polymers,
petrochemicals and fuels companies.  It is the global leader in
polyolefins technology, production and marketing; a pioneer in
propylene oxide and derivatives; and a significant producer of
fuels and refined products, including biofuels.  Through research
and development, LyondellBasell develops innovative materials and
technologies that deliver exceptional customer value and products
that improve quality of life for people around the world.
Headquartered in The Netherlands, LyondellBasell --
http://www.lyondellbasell.com/-- is privately owned by Access
Industries.

Basell AF and Lyondell Chemical Company merged operations in 2007
to form LyondellBasell Industries, the world's third largest
independent chemical company.  LyondellBasell became saddled with
debt as part of the US$12.7 billion merger.  On January 6, 2009,
LyondellBasell Industries' U.S. operations and one of its European
holding companies -- Basell Germany Holdings GmbH -- filed
voluntary petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code to facilitate a restructuring of the company's
debts.  The case is In re Lyondell Chemical Company, et al.,
Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Lead Case No. 09-10023).  Seventy-nine Lyondell
entities, including Equistar Chemicals, LP, Lyondell Chemical
Company, Millennium Chemicals Inc., and Wyatt Industries, Inc.
filed for Chapter 11.  In May 2009, one of the cases was dismissed
-- Case No. 09-10068 -- because it is duplicative of Case No. 09-
10040 relating to Debtor Glidden Latin America Holdings.

The Hon. Robert E. Gerber presides over the case.  Deryck A.
Palmer, Esq., at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, in New York,
serves as the Debtors' bankruptcy counsel.  Evercore Partners
serves as financial advisors, and Alix Partners and its subsidiary
AP Services LLC, serves as restructuring advisors.  AlixPartners'
Kevin M. McShea acts as the Debtors' Chief Restructuring Officer.
Clifford Chance LLP serves as restructuring advisors to the
European entities.  Lyondell Chemical estimated that consolidated
assets total US$27.12 billion and debts total US$19.34 billion as
of the bankruptcy filing date.

Lyondell has obtained approximately US$8 billion in DIP financing
to fund continuing operations.  The DIP financing includes two
credit agreements: a US$6.5 billion term loan, which comprises a
US$3.25 billion in new loans and a US$3.25 billion roll-up of
existing loans; and a US$1.57 billion asset-backed lending
facility.

LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. and another affiliate were
voluntarily added to Lyondell Chemical's reorganization filing
under Chapter 11 on April 24, 2009, in order to seek protection
against claims by certain financial and U.S. trade creditors.  On
May 8, 2009, LyondellBasell Industries added 13 non-operating
entities to Lyondell Chemical Company's reorganization filing
under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.  All of the entities
are U.S. companies and were added to the original Chapter 11
filing for administrative purposes.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes Lyondell Bankruptcy
News.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding undertaken
by Lyondell Chemical Company and its various affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


=============
R O M A N I A
=============


PRINCIPAL COMPANY: Exits Insolvency; Creditors May Appeal
---------------------------------------------------------
Diana Tudor at Ziarul Financiar reports that Principal Company is
out of insolvency after a ruling by the Buzau Court of Law in
favor of the company.  According to the report, creditors have 10
days to file an appeal against the court's ruling.

The report relates that Razvan Zavaleanu, managing partner of
professional reorganization and liquidation company RTZ &
Partners, said "Signus (the Principal Company shareholder) sought
to take on the debt owed to the creditors, and was able to do so
in the case of some of them.  The court of law closed the
insolvency proceedings despite opposition from one of the nine
creditors that asked for opening of insolvency proceedings."

The report notes Mr. Zavaleanu said Principal Company had debts to
over 200 companies.

The report recalls that at the beginning of March, the Buzau court
decided to open insolvency proceedings in the case of Matache
Macelaru and Salonta, as a result of debt accumulated with five
creditors, who were the first to ask for the company's insolvency

Principal Company makes the Salonta and Matache Macelaru
charcuterie products.  The company is controlled by Signus
Establishment and businessmen Ion Dobronauteanu, Emanuel
Dobronauteanu and George Ivanescu, shareholders in Murfatlar wine
producer, according to Ziarul Financiar.


===========
R U S S I A
===========


LSR GROUP: Moody's Reviews 'B3' Corporate Family Rating
-------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has placed LSR Group's B3 corporate
family and Baa2.ru national scale rating on review for possible
upgrade.

The rating action was prompted by the announcement of a secondary
public offering that could lead to a cash inflow of around
US$515 million for LSR Group.  Even though only a part of this
amount is earmarked for the repayment of short term debt the
capital structure of LSR could improve substantially.  This rights
issue also could help repaying a significant part of LSR's short
term debt and remove some pressure from the difficult short term
liquidity position of the company.

An additional driver of this rating action is the publication of
relatively resilient results -- profitability and cash flow wise
-- for 2009 despite the severe overall depressed economic climate,
especially in LSR's Russian home market.  According to Moody's
calculation, LSR Group has achieved a RCF/net debt ratio of 22.1%
in 2009 which is only slightly weaker than the ratio achieved in
2008, the same applies to the debt/EBITDA ratio which per year-end
2009 stood at 2.7x.  Assuming a successful rights issue this will
lead to further improved leverage, which would position LSR
strongly in the current rating category.

The review will focus on:

  -- The final outcome of the public offer

  -- The plans of LSR Group how to apply the proceeds from the
     public offering

  -- The company's future financial strategy and planned capital
     structure

  -- The updated short-term liquidity situation of the company
     following the public offer, and

  - A more detailed review on the perspectives of the company's
     performance in 2010 and 2011

Moody's expects this review to be concluded within the next eight
to ten weeks.

Moody's last rating action on LSR Group on January 30, 2009, was
to downgrade the company's corporate family rating to B3 and the
national scale rating to Baa2.ru with a stable outlook.

LSR Group, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia, is the leading
building materials supplier in the St. Petersburg region and
maintains leading positions in housing completion and housing
under construction in 2009.  In the full year 2009 LSR Group
achieved a turnover of RUR51,024 billion/US$1.6 billion and a
result from operating activities of RUR10,495 billion/
US$331 million.


MEGAFON OAO: Fitch Affirms Issuer Default Rating at 'BB+'
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed OAO MegaFon's ratings at Long-term
foreign currency Issuer Default 'BB+' and Short-term foreign
currency IDR 'B'.  Other ratings affirmed are National Long-term
rating 'AA(rus)' and foreign currency senior unsecured 'BB+',

Fitch also assigned MegaFon Long-term local currency IDR 'BB+' and
and local currency senior unsecured 'BB+'.  MegaFon S.A.'s
US$1.5bn loan participation notes umbrella program, which is
guaranteed by MegaFon, is affirmed at 'BB+'.  The Outlooks on the
Long-term ratings are Positive.

The Positive Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that MegaFon
shareholders will be able to adopt a sustainable dividend policy
and/or establish leverage targets that would be consistent with a
higher rating.

MegaFon's financial and operating performance has been strong for
the rating level and has generally demonstrated good resilience in
the challenging economic environment in Russia.  This was
supported by relatively stable telecom usage in the mass market
and only moderate pressures in the corporate segment.  In 2009
MegaFon's better financial position than its key domestic peers
allowed it to slightly increase its subscriber market share versus
its key competitors although it grew slightly behind the market in
revenue terms.  Fitch expects Megafon to face increasing
competition in the mobile market over the medium term as Tele2 and
Svyazinvest-controlled mobile subsidiaries seek to grow into
nationwide players.

MegaFon's y-o-y organic revenue growth rate slowed to only 4% in
2009 from 25% in 2008, and is unlikely to rebound in the future.
Strong data growth and, at best, sluggish new subscriber additions
in the deeply penetrated market (above 140%) will only compensate
moderate pricing pressures.  MegaFon's overall EBITDA margin is
likely to demonstrate modest weakness on the back of its cautious
expansion into the handset retail business and more aggressive
competition.  Free cash flow generation is likely to remain
strong, benefiting from high EBITDA margins and largely stable
capex, but also inflated by interest income on the net cash
position on the balance sheet.  MegaFon faces no refinancing risk
with RUB65.7bn of available liquidity (consisting of cash, bank
deposits and unrestricted credit lines) comfortably covering
RUB34bn of total debt at end-2009.

Corporate governance remains a key constraint for this issuer
below the investment-grade territory.  Although MegaFon's board
has been able to endorse a few routine decisions such as formal
approval of the annual budget or additional 3G capex, it has on
multiple occasions failed to a take a key decision on dividend
payment that would be indicative of the company's overall debt
tolerance.  Fitch also notes that MegaFon's key shareholders are
in litigation with each other but believes that they are unlikely
to take any actions that would undermine their investment in the
company.  Additionally, the agency notes that certain shareholders
have expressed interest to swap their equity in the company for a
stake in Rostelecom, a large government-controlled fixed-line
operator, and there is a risk they may leverage MegaFon with debt
and change its capital structure in order to reduce the value of
shareholder capital and therefore contribute to better terms for
the share swap.


PROMSVYAZBANK OJSC: S&P Gives Pos. Outlook; Affirms 'B/B' Rating
----------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Rating Services said that it revised its outlook
on Russia-based Promsvyazbank OJSC to positive from stable.  At
the same time, the 'B/B' counterparty credit ratings were
affirmed.

The rating action reflects the lower-than-anticipated impact of
the economic slowdown on the bank's financial profile as well as
its improved liquidity, strengthening risk management, and the
gradually stabilizing operating environment in the Russian
Federation (foreign currency BBB/Stable/A-3, local currency
BBB+/Stable/A-2, Russia national scale rating 'ruAAA').  "The
ratings continue to reflect S&P's view of the bank's high credit
risk and provisioning needs, negative interest margin trends, and
barely adequate capitalization," said Standard & Poor's credit
analyst Sergey Dementiev.

These negative factors are partially mitigated by PSB's moderated
market risk, improved liquidity, and satisfactory core earnings
and efficiency.

The ratings reflect the bank's stand-alone credit profile and do
not include any uplift for extraordinary external support either
from the owners or the government.  Dmitry and Alexey Ananiev, co-
founders of PSB and prominent Russian businessmen, jointly hold
72.93% of voting shares.  Commerzbank AG (A/Negative/A-1) also
holds 15.32%, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(AAA/Stable/A-1+), a new shareholder since February 2010, holds
11.75%.  The presence of these minority shareholders, which now
jointly hold a 27% blocking stake in PSB, is viewed as positive
for corporate and risk governance.

"The positive outlook reflects the gradually stabilizing operating
environment in Russia, reducing market pressures on the bank's
financial and business profiles, and supporting rating prospects,"
added Mr. Dementiev.

S&P would consider raising the rating if the momentum of the
improving economic environment is sustainable subject to the
bank's stronger financial performance, notable improvements in
asset quality, and an increase in the ATE-to-adjusted assets ratio
to more robust levels.

S&P would consider revising the outlook back to stable or even
lowering the ratings should the deterioration in asset quality and
its impact on earnings and capital prove to be higher than S&P
currently anticipates, dragging on profitability and capital.

S&P views capital management as a critical factor for PSB's
ability to absorb the impact of higher asset-quality problems,
support planned credit growth, and implement strategic objectives.


=============================
S L O V A K   R E P U B L I C
=============================


SEAGLE AIR: Declared Bankrupt by Court Following Default
--------------------------------------------------------
The Banska Bystrica District Court declared Seagle Air bankrupt on
April 20 after the airline officially admitted it was in default
and had filed for bankruptcy, The Slovak Spectator reports, citing
court spokeswoman Nina Spurna.

The report relates that the court appointed Vladimir Vanko as
bankruptcy administrator and requested creditors to register their
claims in the period set by law, which is 45 days from the
publication of the court's decision in the Commercial Bulletin.

According to the report, Seagle Air owes about EUR2.5 million in
unpaid salaries.

The report recalls the airline suspended charter flights because
of financial difficulties in October 2009 and two months later
lost its air transport license.

Seagle Air was a charter airline based in Trencin, Slovakia.


=====================
S W I T Z E R L A N D
=====================


FOSTER WHEELER: S&P Puts 'BB+' Rating on CreditWatch Positive
-------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Service said it placed its 'BB+'
corporate credit rating on Zug, Switzerland-based engineering &
construction company Foster Wheeler AG on CreditWatch with
positive implications.

"The CreditWatch listing reflects S&P's opinion that Foster
Wheeler has established a track record of good operating
performance and moderate financial policy," said Standard & Poor's
credit analyst Robyn Shapiro.  The company has generated
satisfactory free cash flow for the past several years, which has
allowed it to hold sizable cash balances.


===========
T U R K E Y
===========


GLOBAL YATIRIM: Fitch Affirms 'B-' Issuer Default Ratings
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Turkey-based Global Yatirim Holding
A.S.'s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings
at 'B-' and removed the ratings from Rating Watch Negative.  Fitch
has assigned Positive Outlooks to both Long-term IDRs.  The agency
has simultaneously affirmed the senior unsecured rating of
Global's US$100 million 9.25% loan participation notes, maturing
in 2012, at 'B-'.  The senior unsecured debt has a Recovery Rating
of 'RR4'.

The rating actions reflect the outstanding debt at the holding
company level, the minimal access to the cash flows of its port
and energy subsidiaries, given their own borrowings, the cash
sweep mechanism at the ports level, and the limited prospects for
meaningful dividend flows going forward.  While the agency
recognizes the fundamentally stable cash flow generation
prospects, mainly for core ports investments, in the medium-term,
many of these businesses are limited in scale and as such remain
strategically weak.  The rating also factors in improved operating
cash flow generation, reduced debt levels following a non-core
asset sale at FY09 and Fitch's satisfaction that the holding
company's finance arm will be managed on a more conservative basis
going forward with a focus on its core corporate finance and
holding company treasury functions.

The Positive Outlook reflects the prospects for non-core asset
sales to generate cash and to improve net leverage, as well as
liquidity at the holding company level, and to afford enhanced
strategic flexibility including in terms of the bond redemption in
2012.  Global Ports' free cash flow generation capability and the
potential for dividends from this business, mainly in the long-
run, is also a positive.  However, as is the case with other
holding companies in Turkey, Global relies mainly on asset sales
and capital gains to service its obligations in the short-term
before dividends.

Global's group structure, with significant stakes in its key
divisions (Global Ports and Energaz) classifies it as an
Industrial Investment Holding Company.  In line with its
methodology, the agency assesses Fitch-adjusted leverage metrics
taking into account EBITDA and debt at Global's main operating
subsidiaries.  Global Ports remains by far the largest EBITDA
generator in the group, contributing nearly 95% of consolidated
EBITDA, while other businesses -- including Energaz and Global
Securities -- made up the remaining 5% at FY09.  Fitch notes that
Global's energy business and the ports business performed in line
with expectations with a consolidated EBITDA of TRY27m at FY09.
Fitch expects operating performance to improve further in 2010 and
beyond as new business lines -- Bilecik Steel and the Sirnak
asphaltite mine -- start contributing to the bottom line.

Global is currently in talks regarding the sale of Energaz (the
natural gas distribution business) and parts of its real estate
portfolio in 2010, and Fitch understands that it is also
evaluating other significant fund-raising initiatives.  The
agency's forecasts anticipate that some of the cash from the
potential asset sales remaining on the company's balance sheet
will be used to redeem the US$100mn Eurobond at H212.  Fitch also
understands that management will restructure the group around its
core business of port management after the completion of the
ongoing reorganization.  The agency further understands that the
company may use some of the proceeds from asset sales and other
ventures to increase its stake in Antalya Port from the current
40% in 2010, and possibly start construction of a coal-fired power
plant under its 51% owned subsidiary, Galata Enerji.

Fitch expects the company to maintain a conservative financial
policy and avoid Treasury operations that were the main reason for
the volatility and weakness of the overall earnings profile at
FY08.  The successful sale of Energaz, improved operating
performance and operating cash flows at operating subsidiaries,
and more clarity on the redemption of the Eurobond would be
positive for the rating.  A releveraging over the medium term,
especially if driven by investment needs for new projects,
accompanied by a liquidity contraction or a material negative
impact on cash flows due to an unexpected operating profitability
contraction would be negative for the rating.


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================


ACCUMA GROUP: In Administration; Leonard Curtis Appointed
---------------------------------------------------------
Debt Management Today reports that Accuma Group has gone into
administration.  According to the report, the firm has appointed
Leonard Curtis as administrator, while its sister company, Wilson
Phillips, which offers IVAs, has been placed into insolvency.

The report relates Accuma Group was founded in 2003 as an IVA
specialist and since then it has seen its fair share of financial
struggles, closing down its loan broking business in 2008 and
announcing full year losses of GBP7.49 million in May 2009.

Accuma Group is a debt management firm based in Manchester, United
Kingdom.


HIT ENTERTAINMENT: S&P Downgrades Corporate Credit Rating to 'SD'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it lowered its long-
term corporate credit rating on U.K.-headquartered preschool
children's programming and consumer products company HIT
Entertainment Ltd. and related entities to 'SD' (selective
default) from 'CC' following the execution of an amendment and
waiver to HIT's credit agreement.  At the same time, S&P lowered
the rating on the US$77 million revolving credit facility to 'D'
from 'CCC-'.  The rating on the first-lien credit facilities of
the US$327 million term loan B and the US$175 million second-lien
term loan are unchanged at 'CCC-' and 'C', respectively.

Following the downgrade, and to reflect the completion of the
amendment to the credit agreement, S&P raised its corporate credit
rating on HIT and related entities to 'CCC+' from 'SD'.  The
outlook is stable.

In addition, the ratings on the first-lien credit facilities,
comprising the RCF and the term loan B, were raised to 'CCC+'.
The recovery rating on the first-lien facilities was lowered to
'3' from '2', indicating S&P's expectation of meaningful (50%-70%)
recovery for lenders in the event of a payment default.

The rating on the US$175 million second-lien term loan is 'CCC-',
two notches below the corporate credit rating.  The recovery
rating on the second-lien facilities was lowered to '6' from '5',
indicating S&P's expectation of negligible (0%-10%) recovery for
lenders in the event of a payment default.

"These rating actions follow the finalization of the debt
restructuring that allowed HIT to obtain a waiver of a breach of
its financial covenants, and to subsequently amend and reset the
financial covenants under its credit agreement," said Standard &
Poor's credit analyst Raam Ratnam.  "HIT also extended the
repayment date of its US$77 million RCF by one year to June 1,
2012, and downsized it to US$15 million (partly through repayment
and partly through inclusion in the term loan B)."

S&P views the amendments to the credit agreement, resulting in the
extension of the repayment date of the RCF and the transfer of
part of the RCF to the term loan B, as tantamount to default under
S&P's definitions.  Although lenders have agreed to extend the
maturity date and the other amendments and have been compensated
by additional fees and interest costs, S&P considers a default to
have effectively occurred under its criteria.  This is because
repayment of the RCF is not going to be made in accordance with
the original terms (notwithstanding the investor agreement) and
the amendment implicitly appears to be the direct result of the
borrower's weak financial condition.  S&P's default definitions
include payment defaults on both rated and unrated financial
obligations.  Other than amendments to the credit agreement, HIT
has, however, confirmed that the payments on all its debt
obligations remain current, which is why S&P sees this default as
selective.

Following the downgrade, to reflect HIT's post-amendment capital
structure, S&P raised its long-term corporate credit rating on HIT
and related entities to 'CCC+' from 'SD', assigning a stable
outlook.  Although the amendments to the credit agreement will
moderately improve HIT's debt maturity profile and will likely
result in adequate financial covenant headroom, S&P believes that
liquidity and financial risk will remain relatively high.  This is
due to HIT's weak operating performance, vulnerability to market
conditions, high leverage, and likely negative free operating cash
flows (FOCF) on account of high interest, fees, and charges.

In S&P's view, HIT is likely to meet its upcoming debt maturities
and maintain sufficient liquidity and adequate headroom under its
covenants in the next twelve months.  S&P may consider a downgrade
if the group's EBITDA generation were to decline materially in the
coming quarters, if liquidity risks were to rise as a result of
significant negative FOCF, or if covenant headroom were to
deteriorate materially.

S&P could consider taking a positive rating action if HIT's
operating performance were to improve significantly more than S&P
anticipates in the currently challenging trading environment, and
the group is able to generate meaningful FOCF to enable it to
increase the liquidity cushion.


INMARSAT INVESTMENTS: EIB Deal Won't Affect S&P's 'BB+' Rating
--------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that its long-term
corporate credit rating and outlook on Inmarsat Investments Ltd.
and Inmarsat Holdings Ltd. (both rated BB+/Stable/--) are
unchanged following Inmarsat Investment Ltd.'s announcement that
it has signed an eight-year, EUR225 million loan agreement with
the European Investment Bank (EIB).  S&P's recovery and debt
ratings on Inmarsat Investments Ltd.'s US$500 million forward
start senior secured bank facilities and Inmarsat Finance PLC's
US$650 million senior unsecured notes are also unchanged at
'1/BBB' and '4/BB+', respectively.

S&P understands that the EIB loan will help Inmarsat -- the
leading global provider of mobile satellite communication services
-- to fund its upcoming satellite, Alphasat, which it is due to
launch in 2013, and will rank pari passu with the group's existing
forward start US$500 million secured credit facilities.  While the
EIB loan will rank ahead of the senior unsecured notes, S&P
believes that recovery prospects on the notes in a default
scenario are likely to remain at 30%-50%, in line with the current
'4' recovery rating.  In particular, S&P assumes that the Inmarsat
group will fully integrate subsidiary Stratos Global Corp.
(BB+/Stable/--) once the refinancing of the latter's outstanding
debt has been completed.  Immarsat announced its plans to
refinance Stratos' debt earlier this month.  S&P also assumes,
given what S&P considers to be Immarsat's "adequate" liquidity
profile, that Inmarsat will raise no additional funding for the
Stratos refinancing.

If Inmarsat does not fully integrate Stratos or incurs additional
debt to refinance that of this subsidiary, S&P could revisit the
recovery and debt ratings on the senior unsecured notes.


LEHMAN BROTHERS: LBI Proposes Deal with Client Money Claimants
--------------------------------------------------------------
In line with their objective to save costs whilst winding down the
company, the Joint Administrators of Lehman Brothers International
(Europe) are proposing to settle in full certain eligible pre-
administration client money claimants' entitlements from LBIE's
general estate.  This proposal applies to payments up to a
maximum of US$10,000 per client and is in return for an assignment
of their pre-administration client money claim.

The purpose of this decision is to engage over 500 of LBIE's 1500
pre administration client money claimants in a plan to reduce the
client money claimant population, thereby reducing the
administrative costs associated with those clients.  The Joint
Administrators envisage paying out US$1 million to clients via
this process in the next 4 months, compared to the overall pre-
administration client money pool of US$2.1 billion.  This plan
will be actioned alongside the appeal proceedings currently
pending regarding the correct interpretation of the FSA's client
money rules.

Andrew Clark, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP leading the
team managing client money matters, said:

"In line with the good progress being made across the
Administration, this is a significant step to help smaller pre-
administration client money claimants reach finality in their
claims.  At the same time it will materially reduce the costs
associated with dealing with client monies for the benefit of all
LBIE creditors."

Information on LBIE's proposal has been posted on the PwC LBIE
website, which sets out further details on eligibility and
instructions for claimants on how to lodge a request for
consideration.

                       About Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. -- http://www.lehman.com/-- was the
fourth largest investment bank in the United States.  For more
than 150 years, Lehman Brothers has been a leader in the global
financial markets by serving the financial needs of corporations,
governmental units, institutional clients and individuals
worldwide.

Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy September 15, 2008
(Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 08-13555).  Lehman's bankruptcy petition
listed US$639 billion in assets and US$613 billion in debts,
effectively making the firm's bankruptcy filing the largest in
U.S. history.  Several other affiliates followed thereafter.

The Debtors' bankruptcy cases are handled by Judge James M. Peck.
Harvey R. Miller, Esq., Richard P. Krasnow, Esq., Lori R. Fife,
Esq., Shai Y. Waisman, Esq., and Jacqueline Marcus, Esq., at Weil,
Gotshal & Manges, LLP, in New York, represent Lehman.  Epiq
Bankruptcy Solutions serves as claims and noticing agent.

On September 19, 2008, the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch, Judge of the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, entered
an order commencing liquidation of Lehman Brothers, Inc., pursuant
to the provisions of the Securities Investor Protection Act (Case
No. 08-CIV-8119 (GEL)).  James W. Giddens has been appointed as
trustee for the SIPA liquidation of the business of LBI

The Bankruptcy Court has approved Barclays Bank Plc's purchase of
Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking and capital
markets operations and supporting infrastructure for
US$1.75 billion.  Nomura Holdings Inc., the largest brokerage
house in Japan, purchased LBHI's operations in Europe for US$2
plus the retention of most of employees.  Nomura also
bought Lehman's operations in the Asia Pacific for US$225 million.

               International Operations Collapse

Lehman Brothers International (Europe), the principal UK trading
company in the Lehman group, was placed into administration,
together with Lehman Brothers Ltd, LB Holdings PLC and LB UK RE
Holdings Ltd.  Tony Lomas, Steven Pearson, Dan Schwarzmann and
Mike Jervis, partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, have been
appointed as joint administrators to Lehman Brothers International
(Europe) on September 15, 2008.  The joint administrators have
been appointed to wind down the business.

Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Japan Inc.
filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court on September 16.
Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. reported about JPY3.4 trillion
(US$33 billion) in liabilities in its petition.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes Lehman Brothers
Bankruptcy News.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., and other insolvency
and bankruptcy proceedings undertaken by its affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


LEHMAN BROTHERS: UK Administrators Gain Control of US$48 Bil.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Joint Administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe)
have updated the creditor community with the issue of their
progress report for the first 18 months of the administration.

The Administrators are pursuing the objective of maximizing
recoveries for the company's creditors.  The report provides
details of the progress made in this complex case.

Steven Pearson, Joint Administrator and partner at
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said, "We have had an exceptionally
productive 6 months.  We have now gained control of over US$48
billion of securities and cash to date.  As advised in January, we
have implemented a highly innovative Claim Resolution Agreement,
which has enabled us to begin returning client assets.  I expect
the unsecured claim determination framework to be materially
advanced over the next six months."

Commenting on the reason for the strong progress Pearson observed,
"The collaboration between the Lehman staff, PwC teams and our
legal advisers has been central to our progress.  The manner in
which the combined team has dealt with the challenges of the past
6-months is reflected in our combined achievements.  We are very
well positioned to deal with the ongoing challenges of this
unprecedented case."

Key achievements to date:

    * The administrators have gained control of US$48.6 billion of
      securities and cash to date, US$8.6 billion of which has
      been dealt with in the last six months.

    * A further US$1.0 billion of assets have been returned to
      clients in the last six months, bringing the total returned
      through bilateral agreements to US$14.3 billion.  In
      addition, over 90% of client asset creditors signed up to
      the Claim Resolution Agreement and the first returns to
      clients under this agreement have been made (post 19 March,
      the bar date under the CRA) and are in addition to the
      US$14.3 billion.

    * US$13.1 billion was held as cash at March 14, 2010.
      US$13.8 billion of securities were under our control at
      March 14, 2010.

    * LBIE has made excellent progress with affiliate companies
      within the Lehman Brothers group.  Of particular note was
      a bilateral asset agreement with Lehman Brothers Japan.
      The Administrators have filed US$217.3 billion of gross
      claims against affiliates to date.

    * A date for proving unsecured claims against LBIE has been
      set for December 31, 2010.

    * Administrators' costs were US$57.6 million in the 6-month
      period.  Costs in the 18 months to date represent just 0.65%
      of total assets controlled by the Administrators.

    * The Administrators concluded a relocation of the LBIE
      operations from Bank Street to Canada Square in March
      2010.  The move will result in annual savings of over
      US$73 million.

    * Over 440 Lehman staff and contractors continue to support
      the LBIE administration.  Lehman staff are an integral
      part of the management and recovery efforts.

A full-text copy of the progress report can be downloaded
from www.pwc.co.uk/lehman/

                       About Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. -- http://www.lehman.com/-- was the
fourth largest investment bank in the United States.  For more
than 150 years, Lehman Brothers has been a leader in the global
financial markets by serving the financial needs of corporations,
governmental units, institutional clients and individuals
worldwide.

Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy September 15, 2008
(Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 08-13555).  Lehman's bankruptcy petition
listed US$639 billion in assets and US$613 billion in debts,
effectively making the firm's bankruptcy filing the largest in
U.S. history.  Several other affiliates followed thereafter.

The Debtors' bankruptcy cases are handled by Judge James M. Peck.
Harvey R. Miller, Esq., Richard P. Krasnow, Esq., Lori R. Fife,
Esq., Shai Y. Waisman, Esq., and Jacqueline Marcus, Esq., at Weil,
Gotshal & Manges, LLP, in New York, represent Lehman.  Epiq
Bankruptcy Solutions serves as claims and noticing agent.

On September 19, 2008, the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch, Judge of the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, entered
an order commencing liquidation of Lehman Brothers, Inc., pursuant
to the provisions of the Securities Investor Protection Act (Case
No. 08-CIV-8119 (GEL)).  James W. Giddens has been appointed as
trustee for the SIPA liquidation of the business of LBI

The Bankruptcy Court has approved Barclays Bank Plc's purchase of
Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking and capital
markets operations and supporting infrastructure for
US$1.75 billion.  Nomura Holdings Inc., the largest brokerage
house in Japan, purchased LBHI's operations in Europe for US$2
plus the retention of most of employees.  Nomura also
bought Lehman's operations in the Asia Pacific for US$225 million.

               International Operations Collapse

Lehman Brothers International (Europe), the principal UK trading
company in the Lehman group, was placed into administration,
together with Lehman Brothers Ltd, LB Holdings PLC and LB UK RE
Holdings Ltd.  Tony Lomas, Steven Pearson, Dan Schwarzmann and
Mike Jervis, partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, have been
appointed as joint administrators to Lehman Brothers International
(Europe) on September 15, 2008.  The joint administrators have
been appointed to wind down the business.

Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Japan Inc.
filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court on September 16.
Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. reported about JPY3.4 trillion
(US$33 billion) in liabilities in its petition.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes Lehman Brothers
Bankruptcy News.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., and other insolvency
and bankruptcy proceedings undertaken by its affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


NORTHERN ROCK: CFO David Jones Steps Down Amid FSA Probe
--------------------------------------------------------
Francesca Steele and Katherine Griffiths at The Times report that
David Jones, who was chief financial officer of Northern Rock's
asset management division, which is being wound down, stepped down
on Wednesday amid a probe by the Financial Services Authority over
the bank's cover-up of almost 2,000 bad mortgages.

According to the report, the bank said that Mr. Jones's departure
would enable him "to focus on an ongoing FSA investigation into
matters relating to a period before the company entered public
ownership".

Hugh Graham, head of Northern Rock's treasury operation, has been
appointed interim chief financial officer, subject to FSA
approval, the report relates.

The bank itself is not under investigation, the report notes.

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on April 20,
2010, The Sunday Times said Mr. Jones is being investigated by the
FSA over claims that he helped cover up bad debts in the bank's
mortgage book.  The Sunday Times disclosed Mr. Jones is believed
to have been aware of plans to hide problem loans from investors.
The Sunday Times recalled that when the bank was nationalized in
February 2008, Mr. Jones resigned as finance director but was
retained as a managing director in its finance department.

                       About Northern Rock

Headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Northern Rock plc
-- http://www.northernrock.co.uk/-- deals with mortgages, savings
accounts, loans and insurance.  The company also promotes secured
loans to its existing mortgage customers.  The company had more
than US$200 billion in assets at the end of June 2007.

                           *     *     *

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter-Europe on Dec. 11,
2009, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised the rating on
Northern Rock's dated subordinated lower Tier 2 debt to 'BB' from
'CCC'.  The ratings on its perpetual subordinated debt and
preference shares were unaffected.  S&P said the outlook is
stable.


PORTSMOUTH FOOTBALL: Owes GBP107 Mil. to Creditors, Report Shows
----------------------------------------------------------------
Portsmouth Football Club owes nearly GBP10 million (US$15 million)
to football agents and scouts, Roger Blitz writes for The
Financial Times, citing a creditors' report.

According to the FT, the 70-page document by administrator Andrew
Andronikou, of UHY Hacker Young, on Wednesday showed that the club
owes GBP107 million -- GBP92.7 million to unsecured creditors and
GBP14.2 million to Balram Chanrai, the owner when Portsmouth began
insolvency proceedings in February.

Mr. Andronikou has set May 6 as the date for a creditor's meeting,
aimed at securing a Company Voluntary Arrangement, the FT notes.

Mr. Andronikou, as cited by the FT, said he intended to treat all
unsecured creditors equally, in spite of football authorities'
rules that require football creditors to be paid off first.

The FT relates the administrator pointed to two factors that led
to Portsmouth's demise: the pressure to win on the pitch, which
led to unsustainable amounts spent on players and agents; and the
club's decision at the beginning of last year to accede to demands
from banks to start repaying debts.

Portsmouth Football Club Ltd. -- http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/--
operates Portsmouth FC, a professional soccer team that plays in
the English Premier League.  Established in 1898, the club boasts
two FA Cups, its last in 2008, and two first division
championships.  Portsmouth FC's home ground is at Fratton Park;
the football team is known to supporters as Pompey.  Dubai
businessman Sulaiman Al-Fahim purchased the club from Alexandre
Gaydamak in 2009.  A French businessman of Russian decent,
Gaydamak had controlled Portsmouth Football Club since 2006.


SALTROCK: Bought Out of Administration; 80 Jobs Secured
-------------------------------------------------------
BBC News reports that Saltrock has been bought out of
administration by private investors, securing 80 jobs at the
company.  The report recalls the company was forced into
administration in March.  This year it ran into financial problems
after its bank withdrew support, the report recounts.

Saltrock is a surfwear company based in Braunton, United Kingdom.


SESSIONS OF YORK: In Administration; Charterfields Seeks Buyer
--------------------------------------------------------------
Simeon Goldstein at Packaging News reports that self-adhesive
labeling specialist Sessions of York has gone into administration
due to rising paper costs and the impact of the recession on
sales.

The report relates that in a statement on Wednesday afternoon,
Sessions said that it had put the management of the company into
the hands of administrators from the P&A Partnership.

According to the report, agent Charterfields is looking to sell
the firm either by division or as a whole.

Sessions of York is a GBP6 million turnover business.  The company
has three divisions -- label printing, label machinery and
commercial printing.  It employs around 100 people, according to
Packaging News.


VANWALL FINANCE: S&P Downgrades Rating on Class F Notes to 'B'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered and removed from
CreditWatch negative its credit ratings on Vanwall Finance PLC's
class B, C, D, E, and F commercial mortgage-backed floating-rate
notes.  At the same time, S&P affirmed and removed from
CreditWatch negative the rating on the class A notes.

S&P's analysis focused on:

The prospects for refinancing the portfolio at or before loan
maturity in 2013 given the tenant's operating performance and
market conditions, and Potential workout scenarios were the tenant
to default over the term.  The portfolio has a reported market
value of GBP507.5 million, unchanged since closing.  However, in
S&P's opinion, an updated valuation would likely report a
valuation decrease of up to 30%, given market value declines in
the U.K. retail warehouse sector since closing.

S&P's analysis noted the weakened refinancing prospects for the
loan in such circumstances.  It further considered a scenario
where the tenant defaults and recovery proceeds are further
depressed due to additional liquidity and swap breakage costs in a
workout scenario potentially hampered by the ongoing rights of the
junior lender.

In such a scenario, S&P believes the ability to recover full
principal on the class D, E, and F notes would be limited, and S&P
has lowered the ratings on these classes to reflect this risk.
Additionally, S&P has lowered the ratings on more senior classes -
-- with the exception of the ratings on the most senior class A
notes, which S&P has affirmed -- to reflect their creditworthiness
relative to those classes most at risk of ultimate default.

S&P placed the ratings on all classes of notes on CreditWatch
negative on June 16, 2009.  This followed S&P's review of all
European commercial mortgage-backed securities that S&P rate, in
light of the pressure facing commercial real estate debt and
capital markets, and the potential impact on loan refinance risks.

The loan backing this transaction is secured on 31 properties (30
retail warehouses and a distribution center), located across the
U.K. and fully let to Toys "R" Us Ltd. The outstanding loan
balance is GBP351 million.  This loan is due to mature in April
2013 and the legal final maturity of the notes is April 2016.  The
most recent net income reported to us is GBP30.97 million,
representing a debt service coverage ratio of 1.38x on a whole-
loan basis.

                           Ratings List

                       Vanwall Finance PLC
GBP355.838 Million Commercial Mortgage-Backed Floating-Rate Notes

      Ratings Lowered and Removed From Creditwatch Negative

                               Rating
                               ------
              Class       To            From
              -----       --            ----
              B           A             AAA/Watch Neg
              C           BBB-          AA/Watch Neg
              D           BB            BBB/Watch Neg
              E           B+            BB/Watch Neg
              F           B             BB-/Watch Neg

       Rating Affirmed and Removed From Creditwatch Negative

                               Rating
                               ------
              Class       To            From
              -----       --            ----
              A           AAA           AAA/Watch Neg


XERIUM TECHNOLOGIES: Wants Baker & McKenzie as European Counsel
---------------------------------------------------------------
Xerium Technologies Inc. and its units seek the Court's authority
to employ Baker & McKenzie as special European corporate counsel,
nunc pro tunc to the Petition Date.

As European corporate counsel, Baker will:

  (a) represent and advise the Debtors in relation to all
      jurisdictions outside of the U.S. (including, without
      limitation, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Finland,
      France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
      Sweden, United Kingdom, and Vietnam) to review, coordinate
      and advise on the collateral package (and related
      corporate in possession and exit financing and the amended
      second lien term loan to be entered into on the effective
      date of the Plan;

  (b) represent and advise the Debtors on and assisting the
      Debtors in the implementation of certain intercompany
      transactions to be carried out under the Plan in Austria,
      Germany, and Italy in connection with the restructuring of
      the Debtors' obligations under their prepetition credit
      facility, proposed by the Debtors in cooperation with
      Ernst & Young LLP and other advisors; and

  (c) advise the Debtors related to their non-U.S. subsidiaries,
      especially in the European jurisdictions (Austria,
      Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom,
      Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and in addition, occasionally
      in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico,
      and Vietnam), with respect to corporate, litigation, and
      employment matters, including, without limitation,
      workforce restructuring and closures, management changes
      (employment and corporate side), group-internal
      intercompany transactions, cash pool measures, board
      meetings, changes in articles, and general corporate legal
      advice with respect to day-to-day corporate housekeeping.

Baker will be paid according to these hourly rates:

  * Partners              US$270 (Mexico) to US$1,100 (Hong Kong)
  * Associates            US$120 (Mexico) to US$850 (Hong Kong)
  * Para-professionals    US$120 to US$340

Baker will also be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses
incurred.

Olaf Gebler, Esq., a partner at Baker & McKenzie, assures the
Court that his firm does not hold or represent any interest
adverse to the Debtors or their estates and is a "disinterested
person," as defined in section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code, as
modified by Section 1107(b) of the Bankruptcy Code.

                   About Xerium Technologies

Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Xerium Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:
XRM), manufactures and supplies two types of consumable products
used primarily in the production of paper: clothing and roll
covers.  The Company, which operates around the world under a
variety of brand names, utilizes a broad portfolio of patented and
proprietary technologies to provide customers with tailored
solutions and products integral to production, all designed to
optimize performance and reduce operational costs.  With 32
manufacturing facilities in 13 countries around the world, Xerium
has approximately 3,300 employees.

Xerium Technologies and certain subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11
on March 30, 2010 (Bankr. D. Del. Lead Case No. 10-11031).  Judge
Kevin J. Carey presides over the cases.  John J. Rapisardi, Esq.;
George A. Davis, Esq.; and Sharon J. Richardson, Esq., at
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; and Mark D. Collins, Esq., at
Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., serve as bankruptcy counsel.
Brian Fox, Michelle Campbell, and Michael Hartley at AlixPartners,
LLC, serve as the Debtors' restructuring advisors.  Stephen Ledoux
and Daniel Gilligan at Rothschild Inc. serve as the Debtors'
investment bankers.  Garden City Group Inc. is the Debtors' claims
agent.  Xerium Technologies disclosed total assets of
US$693,511,000
and total debts of US$813,168,000 in its petition.

Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., publishes XERIUM TECHNOLOGIES
BANKRUPTCY NEWS.  The newsletter tracks the Chapter 11 proceeding
undertaken by Xerium Technologies and its various affiliates.
(http://bankrupt.com/newsstand/or 215/945-7000)


* UK: Construction Sector Insolvencies Down 5% in March 2010
------------------------------------------------------------
Chloe McCulloch at Building magazine, citing figures released by
Experian, reports that insolvencies in the construction sector
were down 5% in March compared with the same period last year.

According to the report, the figures show that this March 377
construction companies became insolvent while 398 went under in
the same month in 2009.


===============
X X X X X X X X
===============


* BOOK REVIEW: Rupert Murdoch: Creator of a Worldwide Empire
------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Jerome Tuccille
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 304 pages
List Price: US$34.95

With his recent purchase of the Dow Jones Company, parent company
of the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch added another piece to
his global communications empire and again showed why he is the
preeminent media mogul in the world.

While many books have been written about Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch:
Creator of a Worldwide Empire, is among the most enlightening
because it was written in 1989 and chronicles Murdoch's activities
during the 1980s, a critical period of time when he built his
empire in the United States.  It was a time when Murdoch "bought
and sold properties with dizzying speed," notes the author.  Two
of the most notable acquisitions were his purchase of Twentieth
Century Fox from Marvin Davis and the purchase of Triangle
Publications from Walter Annenberg, but many other acquisitions
are recounted in this fascinating book.  It was also a time when
Murdoch fiercely battled regulators, legislators, labor unions,
competitors, and even public opinion. These battles are recounted
also.

In writing Rupert Murdoch: Creator of a Worldwide Empire, the
author had access to a multitude of sources inside and outside the
Murdoch organization, including Murdoch himself.  Tucille
demonstrates Murdoch's mastery at taking advantage of tax and
financing techniques to borrow more than his rivals without
diluting the value of his holdings.

Murdoch's business acumen allowed him to continually outbid and
outmaneuver the competition to compile a media conglomerate that,
in the United States, includes The Boston Herald and The New York
Post newspapers; New York, TV Guide, and Seventeen magazines; the
HarperCollins publishing house, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation;
the Fox television network, and numerous Fox television stations
around the country.

Murdoch's international assets include the Times of London
newspaper and dozens of newspapers and magazines in his native
Australia.  Murdoch has often been compared to William Randolph
Hearst, but Tucille counters that Murdoch is his own man and, in
point of fact, has achieved a larger measure of success.  At the
time of this book's writing, Murdoch controlled a media empire of
US$12 billion.  Hearst's holdings, adjusted to 1989 dollars, would
be approximately US$700 million.

With the acquisition of The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch's
combined news, entertainment and Internet enterprises (he also
recently added the MySpace web site to his holdings) are now
valued at US$68 billion.

Tucille dispels many of the myths about the man.  The author finds
Murdoch to be in the mold of the old publishing barons, who are
motivated to construct an empire through savvy acquisitions and
then by building readership and viewership.  Murdoch does not
acquire assets with the intent of breaking them down, disposing of
them, and quickly turning a profit.  He is a "builder"
entrepreneur who makes his assets stronger and more valuable.
Murdoch is also a risk-taker or, as some have characterized him,
as a gambler extraordinaire who, through a combination of luck and
good timing, has been able to build an empire although seemingly
overpaying for assets.  The author notes, however, that ". . . no
one's luck lasts that long.Murdoch -- like most successful people
-- makes his own luck through hard work and effort, by hiring the
right people to do the job and replacing them quickly when they
fail."

Jerome Tuccille has written more than 20 books, including a
biography of Alan Greenspan.


                            *********

Monday's edition of the TCR delivers a list of indicative prices
for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par.  Prices are
obtained by TCR editors from a variety of outside sources during
the prior week we think are reliable.  Those sources may not,
however, be complete or accurate.  The Monday Bond Pricing table
is compiled on the Friday prior to publication.  Prices reported
are not intended to reflect actual trades.  Prices for actual
trades are probably different.  Our objective is to share
information, not make markets in publicly traded securities.
Nothing in the TCR constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or
sell any security of any kind.  It is likely that some entity
affiliated with a TCR editor holds some position in the issuers'
public debt and equity securities about which we report.

Each Tuesday edition of the TCR contains a list of companies with
insolvent balance sheets whose shares trade higher than US$3 per
share in public markets.  At first glance, this list may look like
the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short.
Don't be fooled.  Assets, for example, reported at historical cost
net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's
assets.  A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for
liabilities that may never materialize.  The prices at which
equity securities trade in public market are determined by more
than a balance sheet solvency test.

A list of Meetings, Conferences and Seminars appears in each
Thursday's edition of the TCR. Submissions about insolvency-
related conferences are encouraged.  Send announcements to
conferences@bankrupt.com

Each Friday's edition of the TCR includes a review about a book of
interest to troubled company professionals.  All titles are
available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com.  Go to
http://www.bankrupt.com/booksto order any title today.

                            *********


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless
Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Frederick,
Maryland USA.  Valerie C. Udtuhan, Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine
C. Tumanda-Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2010.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR Europe subscription rate is US$625 per half-year,
delivered via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members
of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or
balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
contact Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300.


                 * * * End of Transmission * * *