INTERNATIONAL

Setback for Volvo-Procordia Merger: A Swedish government commission recommended rejection of a proposed $6.6-billion merger between car and truck maker Volvo and food and drugs group Procordia. The country’s recently elected center-right government, which opposes the linkup, was expected to follow the panel’s advice. It was unclear what Volvo and Procordia would do next if the government rejected the bid. The state and Volvo each hold 42.7% of the voting shares in Procordia. The commission said the merger, which would create one of Europe’s largest companies, with 105,000 employees and annual revenue of nearly $20 billion, would bring disadvantages for Procordia.