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Germany's Lufthansa is in talks to buy a majority of insolvent Air Berlin's aircraft, with the backing of Berlin, which is pushing for a national aviation champion, Reuters reported today. Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Berlin granted a bridging loan of 150 million euros ($175.5 million) to allow the airline to keep its planes in the air for three months and secure the jobs of its 7,200 workers in Germany while buyers for its assets are found.

Automakers yesterday won a temporary reprieve from lawsuits filed by victims of defective air bags made by bankrupt Takata Corp that led to the largest-ever auto safety recall and at least 18 deaths, Reuters reported. The decision gives the Japanese auto supplier breathing room to work through its bankruptcy reorganization. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon in Wilmington, Delaware, granted a 90-day halt on lawsuits brought by Hawaii, New Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as individuals. He did not extend the shield to 48 federal cases that extend across several districts, saying that the lawsuits had already advanced. Takata argued for a six-month freeze on hundreds of lawsuits so management could complete a $1.6 billion sale of its viable operations, crucial to its reorganization, and replace air bag inflators that are subject to the biggest recall in automotive history. Judge Shannon said that he was "extremely sensitive" to the plaintiffs' cases but believed a "breathing spell" for Takata was appropriate. The stay expires on Nov. 15.

Air Berlin Plc filed for insolvency after leading shareholder Etihad Airways PJSC withdrew its financial support, marking the second failure of a major European airline in four months after the Persian Gulf carrier pulled the plug on funding Italy’s Alitalia SpA in May, Bloomberg News reported today. While Air Berlin said in a statement yesterday that it will continue flying with the help of government loans, the filing puts thousands of German jobs at risk. Deutsche Lufthansa AG said that it may buy parts of its main national rival. Air Berlin has racked up more than 2.7 billion euros ($3.2 billion) of losses in a little over six years and has net debt of 1.2 billion euros. Etihad bought a 29 percent stake in 2012 as part of a plan to feed more passengers through its Abu Dhabi hub by building a network of minority investments, a strategy that it’s now unraveling after itself suffering losses of $1.87 billion in 2016.

Japanese auto supplier Takata Corp. filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection yesterday in an effort to pause lawsuits against the company over faulty air bag inflators — more than a month after its U.S. unit filed for bankruptcy in the same court, Reuters reported. In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Takata said that the chapter 15 petition was critical to ensure the "continuation of Takata's business, preserving tens of thousands of jobs and ensuring that Takata's business partners continue to have access to critical components that ensure the safety of drivers worldwide." The petition came as Takata's U.S. business separately asked a federal bankruptcy judge to suspend lawsuits against automakers that have been brought by air bag victims. Major automakers including BMW AG, Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. sided with Takata in backing a six-month delay in lawsuits. Takata and automakers face hundreds of lawsuits including actions brought by Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and New Mexico.

Efforts have accelerated to combat the bad-loan problem afflicting much of southern Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported today. In Italy, where 16 percent of all loans are nonperforming, banks may shed more than €60 billion in bad loans this year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, partly as a result of this summer’s €25 billion government bailout of three ailing lenders. Greece has passed new laws aimed at kick-starting a market for bad loans, and banks there have added staff — a fivefold increase to about 10,000 — to chip away at their €110 billion of bad debt. Meanwhile, investors have poured hundreds of millions into new funds to buy up debt representing bundles of loans.

The standoff between Dana Gas PJSC and its bondholders took a fresh twist after the Middle Eastern energy explorer that’s trying to void $700 million of its own debt was said to believe investors may even have to pay the company, Bloomberg News reported. The Sharjah-based gas producer says that in one scenario the court battle with holders of the Islamic securities, or sukuk, may see it having to return less than 10 percent of the amount it borrowed. In a second scenario, it believes creditors may have to pay it as much as $150 million, the person said, adding that the case may last more than 10 years. Dana Gas, which announced plans to restructure the debt in May, this week retracted an offer to replace the bonds and is pursuing a resolution in court. The company said in June the debt was no longer Shariah-compliant. Investors questioned the validity of the claim since neither sukuk regulations nor United Arab Emirates laws governing the matter have changed since they were issued in 2013.