Bankrupt MF Global shuts down, lays off 1,000

Bankrupt US broker MF Global, which collapsed under the weight of huge bad bets on risky European debt, officially shut down Friday laying off 1,066 workers. The liquidation trustee for the broker, which had been led by Wall Street star and ex-Goldman Sachs chief Jon Corzine, announced the closure, saying employees would be paid through November 15. "The termination of employees and closure of operations is a necessary part of the court-ordered liquidation of MF Global Inc," the trustee said in a statement. "The broker-dealer is not conducting business and will not be reorganized." MF Global filed for bankruptcy on November 1 after reporting mounting losses related in part to its $6.3 billion investment in high-risk eurozone sovereign bonds. It had reportedly used the bonds as collateral to raise even more funding, much of it short-term, which dried up as the company's troubles became more evident, leaving it insolvent. The company's full financial picture is not yet clear, but according to its third-quarter financial report, MF Global had around $40 billion in debts. The trustee said that about 17,000 customer account positions and approximately $1.5 billion in customer funds have been transferred to other future commodities brokers.