The bottomline

CAIRO: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Monday it would increase its trading facility limit to Egypt’s largest private sector bank, Commercial International Bank (CIB), to $100 million from $50 million.

EBRD said in a statement it was increasing the limit to promote import and export activities.

“Through the programme, the Bank provides guarantees to international ... banks, taking the political and commercial payment risk of international trade transactions undertaken by banks in the countries of operations.”

EBRD said CIB had become a very active user of the trade facility programme since joining in December 2014.

It said the trading facility limit was increased in response to growing market demand to promote cross-border trade in Egypt. (RTRS)

NEW YORK: Food services company Sysco gave up its plan to acquire US Foods Monday after antitrust regulators blocked the proposed deal in a US court.

Sysco will pay a $300 million termination fee to US Foods. The takeover had been valued about $8 billion, including debt.

“After reviewing our options, including whether to appeal the Court’s decision, we have concluded that it’s in the best interests of all our stakeholders to move on,” said Sysco chief executive Bill Delaney.

“We believed the merger was the right strategic decision for us, and we are disappointed that it did not come to fruition. However, we are prepared to move forward with initiatives that will contribute to the success of Sysco and our stakeholders.” (AFP)

WASHINGTON: US media giant Gannett said Monday it completed its breakup which separates its newspaper division, including flagship USA Today, from broadcast and digital businesses.

Gannett is the latest of the media conglomerates to spin off struggling print operations, following similar moves by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Tribune Co. and others.

The renamed parent company called Tegna owns or provides services to 46 television stations and operates websites such as Cars.com and CareerBuilder.

The plan unveiled last year spins off the newspaper unit, which will retain the Gannett name and operates some 90 US newspapers and includes the British-based Newsquest Media Group. (AFP)

LONDON: Sky has called for a competition inquiry into Britain’s broadband market where it says BT, the market leader whose network it relies on, has an effective monopoly.

Sky said in a submission to telecoms regulator Ofcom on Monday that it believed a history of under-investment in BT’s infrastructure business, Openreach, had led to problems such as network faults and long waits for new lines to be installed. Openreach operates and maintains Britain’s telecoms network.

Sky said it regarded the issues it raised as sufficient for Ofcom, which is itself carrying out a review of the sector, to ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to conduct an inquiry into BT’s Openreach division. (RTRS)

FRANKFURT: Lufthansa and cabin crew union UFO are holding talks on whether to resume negotiations over pay and pensions in a bid to stave off what could be imminent strikes over the busy summer holiday season.

Lufthansa has been in protracted talks with various staff groups as it seeks to bring down costs and revise pension schemes, to better compete with low-cost airlines and expanding Middle Eastern rivals.

UFO said earlier on Monday its members were ready to talk and Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr told journalists he was optimistic that a deal could be reached.

UFO last week threatened its members would strike on July 1 if Lufthansa did not put forward a much better offer on pay and pensions. (RTRS)

LILLE: Employees of a ferry service recently sold by Eurotunnel renewed a blockade of the northern French port of Calais on Monday after a court rejected their bid to extend the service’s charter contract with Eurotunnel.

Access to the boats on the docks was not possible in the afternoon, said union and port sources.

Strike action by around 400 workers last week led to major traffic jams of lorries, prompting migrants around the port to try and stowaway on trucks bound for Britain. (RTRS)

BERLIN: Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis says it is buying Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, a US-based biotechnology company that specializes in developing treatments for chronic pain.

Novartis didn’t disclose financial details Monday of the agreement to buy privately held Spinifex, which has its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and an office in Melbourne, Australia.

The head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, David Epstein, said that Spinifex’s lead product, EMA401, “could provide a novel, differentiated treatment approach to provide relief for patients and healthcare providers worldwide.” (AP)

AMSTERDAM: FrieslandCampina, one of Europe’s biggest dairy companies, has boosted its stocks of condensed milk and infant formula in Greece in anticipation of stockpiling by consumers, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The Dutch cooperative, the largest dairy company in Greece, also paid its 450 employees in the crisis-hit country in advance last week in order to ensure continuity of supply.

“We are holding more stock of child nutrition and condensed milk,” spokesman Jan-Willem ter Avest told Reuters. “We took that decision ... to ensure supply to consumers because we expect people will want to buy more and keep it in stock.” (RTRS)

SAO PAULO: Stocks fell in early trading on Sao Paulo’s stock exchange Monday, dropping 0.71 percent by mid-morning on fears sparked by the financial crisis in Greece.

The main Ibovespa exchange initially slid 1.25 percent but climbed back to a 0.71 percent loss by around 1400 GMT.

The drop came amid anxiety in the international markets over the Greek crisis, amid the growing possibility of both a default and Athens’ exit from the eurozone.

There were also jitters over the announcement by Brazilian scandal-hit oil giant Petrobras that it has slashed its fiveyear investment plan by 37 percent.

The Sao Paulo exchange closed on Friday at 54,016, up 1.58 percent. (AFP)