(Bloomberg) — Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s supervisory board raised the stakes in a tug-of-war with the European Union, holding off on accepting a 9 billion-euro ($9.9 billion) German rescue that includes the bloc’s antitrust demands.European Commission conditions requiring the surrender of takeoff and landing slots would weaken company hubs at Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa said in a surprise move Wednesday. The airline opted against immediately calling a shareholder vote and said the proposal will be reviewed, citing a need to analyze the economic hit, the repayment of the aid and possible alternative scenarios.The bailout remains “as the only viable alternative for maintaining solvency,” according to the board, an oversight body on which workers are heavily represented. But the holdup underscores the political tensions underpinning the effort to stabilize Europe’s largest airline in the midst of a historic collapse in travel.The delay comes with Lufthansa severely weakened by the coronavirus crisis. The carrier has just weeks of liquidity remaining before it runs out of cash, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposed bailout requires shareholder and EU approval before the funds can be distributed, a process that could take several weeks even without the new delay.“Its cash burn is accelerating,” analysts at Berenberg said of Lufthansa in a note published Monday, adding outflows might have doubled due to summer ticket refunds and fuel hedging losses. “We’ve been surprised at the drawn-out aid process given this elevated urgency.”The supervisory board is expected to meet again to discuss the package once it has more information on the slots matter. The airline can call a meeting at short notice, meaning it could still approve the deal this week.The stock closed 0.4% higher at 9.27 euros in Frankfurt. It has gained 9.3% before the supervisory board move on optimism that bailout saga was drawing to close.Three-Way TalksWeeks of three-way haggling between the airline, the German government and officials in Brussels over the shape of the support package were intended to avoid further hang-ups after the proposal was put to the company on Monday.Almost as soon as the deal was announced, the unity started to fray. EU antitrust officials demanded the airline give up the slots at its two key hubs, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an internal meeting that she would fight for Lufthansa’s interest in talks with Brussels.Germany is separately seeking EU assurances that any deal put to shareholders is compliant with state-aid rules, the people said. It wants a so-called comfort letter from regulators to offer legal clarity on financial aspects before the EU approves the deal, one person said. That would not cover the dispute over slots.Merkel said Wednesday that talks regarding Lufthansa are ongoing. Spokespeople at the airline and in Germany’s Economy Ministry declined to comment.‘Ungrateful Lufthansa’Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, criticized Germany’s rescue effort as an “illegal state aid scheme, which the ungrateful Lufthansa has clearly rejected.” A decision by the German airline to hand over slots in Frankfurt and Munich would boost competition, Ryanair said in a statement.“If the German government is serious about restarting air travel to and from Germany, then this state aid should be replaced with a different scheme, which would reduce air travel taxes for all airlines operating in Germany for the next 24 months,” Dublin-based Ryanair said.Officials concede in private that Lufthansa will need to give up a sizable amount of capacity in Germany to secure the European Commission’s blessing. Lufthansa could also be asked to cut back 20 planes in Germany, a person familiar with the matter said.The Commission declined to comment on the Lufthansa statement. It defended tougher conditions for the recapitalization than for a loan on the grounds that “it does not increase the debt exposure of the company and ensures that the company is supported by a strong shareholder.”Airport slots are a crucial currency for airlines, providing them with the ability to operate flights at popular times and to coveted destinations. It’s a commodity that EU regulators have often asked carriers to cede to smaller rivals when seeking approval for mergers, including during Lufthansa’s 2017 takeover of a unit of Air Berlin.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2XyyFJc

Shares in PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals (PHAS) surged 82% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, after the company announced clearance of its investigational new drug (IND) application by the FDA under its Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP).PhaseBio’s “VANGARD” trial will assess the efficacy and safety of its PB1046 in hospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk for rapid clinical deterioration and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Approximately 210 patients will be targeted to be enrolled at approximately 20 sites across the US. The primary endpoint will measure days alive and free of respiratory failure.The patients will be treated with PB1046, a novel, once-weekly, subcutaneously-injected vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) receptor agonist that targets VPAC receptors in the cardiovascular, pulmonary and immune systems. VIP is a neurohormone known to have anti-inflammatory effects, and importantly, has also been observed to have potent bronchodilatory and immunomodulatory effects in the respiratory system.PhaseBio now expects to begin dosing patients by the end of June and is targeting to report trial results late in the fourth quarter of 2020. Based on feedback from the FDA, PhaseBio believes that positive, clearly interpretable and clinically meaningful results from this trial may enable PhaseBio to submit a Biologics License Application.“Physicians are in desperate need of new options to treat COVID-19 patients facing rapid deterioration of lung function and before progressing to a ventilator,” said John Lee, CMO at PhaseBio. “Early mitigation by PB1046 of the effects of inflammatory cytokines that can cause acute lung injury, is a promising strategy that could prevent patients from declining to the point where they require mechanical ventilation and help alleviate the strain on critical care infrastructure that we’re witnessing.”Indeed, analysts have a firmly bullish outlook on PHAS with 4 recent buy ratings, no holds and no sells, giving it a Strong Buy consensus. The average analyst price target stands at $12.75 (188% upside potential). (See PhaseBio stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Novavax Begins Human Testing For Covid-19 Vaccine, Expects Results In July Merck CEO Casts Doubt On ‘Very Aggressive’ Covid-19 Vaccine Timeline Regeneron Announces Secondary Offering Pricing At $515/Share More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Novavax Seeks To Make 1 Billion Covid-19 Vaccine Doses; Top Analyst Ramps Up PT To $61 * Hertz Sinks 11% After-Hours As Carl Icahn Sells Stake At $1.8B Loss * Data Center Set to Send Nvidia Stock Soaring Even Higher * Google Pay App May Face Anti-Trust Probe In India – Report

from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3gyOdFA