Business & Finance

The fate of Swissair Group was hanging in the balance as the Monitor went to press, with trading in its shares suspended while the Bern government met to decide what, if any, emergency measures might save the national carrier from collapse. Analysts said they doubted it could survive in its present form with a reported debt of at least $9.1 billion. Swissair announced early Monday it could not guarantee that flights scheduled for the rest of the week would operate.

Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Inc., a subsidiary of Britain's Cadbury Schweppes PLC, filed suit in Texas against PepsiCo, alleging the US soft drink giant violated antitrust laws and interfered with trading. The suit accuses PepsiCo of entering into a deal with Tricon Global Restaurants, operator of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, that penalizes the latter for selling Seven Up. Pepsi-Cola International has rights to distribute Seven Up overseas, while Cadbury owns rights to the brand in the US.

Federal-Mogul Corp. filed for protection from creditors in the US and Britain under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code to help help separate its main business, making auto parts, from its liability to asbestos-related litigation. The Southfield, Mich., company said it doesn't anticipate job losses or plant closures as a result of its filing.

Morgan Stanley, the largest US investment bank, is planning to cut 200 jobs, the Financial Times reported. The layoffs are in addition to the 1,500 announced in April and are expected to fall mostly on specialists in the telecommunications, media, and technology sectors. Investment banks have shed more than 25,000 jobs this year, and more cuts appear likely as securities firms cope with an industry downturn, analysts said.