Briefs

Power producer Dynegy placed several of its units under bankruptcy protection. If the move is approved, it would give the company time to bring down debts and for energy prices to rebound. Earlier this year, Dynegy, which was on course to run out of cash, shifted valuable coal and gas plants out of a unit called Dynegy Holdings, one of those later placed in bankruptcy. Shifting these assets protected shareholders such as Carl Icahn and prompted a lawsuit from Dynegy Holdings’ angry bondholders. The deal proposed in bankruptcy court would restore the plants as collateral for the bonds—news that sent bond prices rallying from $70 to as high as $78 after the proposal was announced.

Olympus shareholders want the Japanese camera maker to hold more executives responsible for an accounting scandal that has sent shares tumbling more than 75 percent since mid-October. After weeks of denying wrongdoing, the company on Nov. 7 said three executives hid decades of losses. Olympus fired one exec, another stepped down, and the third has offered to resign. A major shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, has called for the resignations of the head of investor relations and the company’s board.