Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA has received permission from a Brazilian appeals court to sell assets as the world’s largest meatpacker copes with fallout from a corruption scandal involving the family that controls it. In a statement on Thursday, JBS said it had learned that Brazil’s Regional Federal Court of the 1st Region […] Read more
JBS gets nod from Brazil court to divest assets
Dow to sell part of Brazil corn seed business
Reuters — Dow Chemical said it had agreed to sell a portion of its corn seed business in Brazil to a unit of China’s CITIC Ltd. for US$1.1 billion as it seeks to gain approval for its merger with DuPont from the country’s antitrust regulator. The divestiture includes seed processing plants and seed research centers, […] Read more
EU, Canada agree start of free trade agreement
Brussels | Reuters — The European Union and Canada said on Saturday they had agreed to start a free trade agreement between the two sides on Sept. 21, paving the way for over 90 per cent of the treaty to come into effect. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been championed by both […] Read more
Brazilian top court justice upholds barring JBS asset sale
Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has upheld a lower court decision that ordered the world’s largest meatpacker, JBS SA, to halt the sale of US$300 million worth of South American assets to Minerva SA , according to a court document. Justice Edson Fachin agreed with a lower court’s ruling that JBS’ […] Read more
Bayer files for Monsanto takeover approval with EU regulators
Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer has filed a request for approval of its planned US$66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds company Monsanto with European Union regulators, as suitors line up for assets that Bayer will sell to get the approval by year-end. Bayer, which is bracing for the EU Commission to go into an in-depth […] Read more
Cheese and drugs wrangle holds up EU-Canada trade deal
Brussels | Reuters — Disputes over cheese and pharmaceuticals are holding up the start of a EU-Canada free trade agreement that both sides have championed as a landmark deal for open markets against a protectionist tide. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has received all the clearances required for it to enter force provisionally, […] Read more
Mexico gives conditional approval to Dow, DuPont merger
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it has given approval to DuPont and Dow Chemical to merge on the condition that they sell certain crop protection products and other assets. The asset sales required by Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) is similar to what U.S. antitrust enforcers asked of the […] Read more
Syngenta eyes Bayer assets to bolster seed operations
Basel | Reuters — Switzerland’s Syngenta, the crop protection company acquired by ChemChina, has vowed to bulk up its seeds business and join the chase for assets rival Bayer must sell to gain regulatory approval for its takeover of Monsanto. Syngenta, a distant third in the global seeds market behind Monsanto and Dupont, is determined […] Read more
CFTC fines cattle futures traders US$5 million
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. futures regulators fined a Memphis trading firm and three associates US$5 million on Wednesday for using a manipulative tactic in CME Group’s cattle futures, a market grappling with extreme volatility. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it penalized McVean Trading + Investments $1.5 million and its chairman, Charles Dow McVean, […] Read more
U.S. Trade Representative says no deadline for NAFTA deal
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday there was no deadline for completing NAFTA trade talks between the United States, Canada and Mexico even as lawmakers warned that U.S. business would be hurt by prolonged negotiations. “There is no deadline. My hope is that we can get it done by […] Read more
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