MF Global's liquidation plan approved by bankruptcy court

MF Global on Friday gained court approval of a plan to liquidate its assets, pay back creditors and end the $40 billion bankruptcy that rocked the financial world in 2011.

The commodities brokerage, run by former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, collapsed after investors were spooked by its exposure to European sovereign debt.

Friday's approval marks a major step in ending the massive Chapter 11, as MF Global can now take steps to implement the plan and pay creditors.

(Reporting By Nick Brown in New York; writing by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware)