FTC: Watch articles from June 2000

FTC: Watch archives from June 2000

Airlines.(Northwest Airlines Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Airlines - In October, 1998, the Justice Dept. filed suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit to block the proposed purchase by Northwest Airlines of a controlling stake in Continental Airlines that would combine the fourth and fifth largest U.S....

Pharmaceuticals.(Glaxo Wellcome/SmithKline Beecham merger)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Pharmaceuticals: The FTC has identified three product groups that would cause the proposed Glaxo Wellcome/SmithKline Beecham merger to fail on antitrust grounds: antiviral drugs, antiemetic drugs and diabetic drugs. According to informed...

Pfizer, Inc.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Pfizer, Inc. announced last week that the FTC staff has completed its review of its proposed merger with Warner-Lambert and that a proposed consent agreement requiting divestitures of one overlapping consumer product market in the U.S. and...

Supermarkets.(Delhaize America Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Supermarkets: Pending since August, 1999, Delhaize America, Inc.'s $3.6 Billion acquisition of Hannaford Bros. Co. remains stalled under FTC antitrust review in the FTC's Northeast Regional Office, which is not expected to produce a...

Nuclear power plants.(Framatome S.A.)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Nuclear power plants: The Justice Dept.'s Antitrust Division has quietly cleared two joint ventures that effectively reduce the number of competitors in market to build nuclear power plants from four to two: (1) Siemens/Framatome and (2)...

Big players snub packed FTC slotting fees workshop.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Major manufacturers and grocery retailers were noticeably absent from the May 31-June 1 FTC slotting allowances workshop, where 200 participants, including antitrust officials from Canada, Ireland and Israel, spilled into an overflow room. ...

Boast, Ducore on FTC divestiture logic.(Competition Bureau Deputy Director Molly Boast)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... "Some assert that the Competition Bureau uses divestitures to kill deals, but if there are problems with a merger there are better ways to go than over-reaching remedies," Competition Bureau Deputy Director Molly Boast told a joint ABA, Federal...

Avoid preconsummation cooperation.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... The antitrust agencies are increasingly concerned about "gun jumping" or improper close relationships between merging parties prior to consummation of deals, FTC Competition Bureau Deputy Director Molly Boast advised an ABA Insurance Committee...

Hyde, Jackson ask GAO to scrutinize 0'Hare : House and Senate to hold hearings on United-US Airways merger.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) has scheduled a June 14 hearing on competition issues in the airline industry in response to the proposed United Airlines and U.S. Airways merger and a Suburban O'Hare Commission report...

Hearing scheduled for June 13 : FTC online privacy report to Congress.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Splitting 3-2 along party lines, the FTC has advised Congress to consider legislation providing comprehensive online privacy protections in conjunction with self-regulation. The recommendations follows the results of the 2000 online privacy...

COPA Commission to hold workshops on protecting kids from online muck.(The Child Online Protection Act)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) directs the Commission on Online Child Protection to study methods to reduce kids' access to offensive online materials unsuitable for young, impressionable psyches. The COPA Commission will hold three...

FTC staff advises West Virginia on implementing electricity dereg bill.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Conduct a study on existing market power and require electricity companies to provide standard disclosures, FTC staff advised the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) in a May 19 staff opinion letter. The joint Economics Bureau and...

Bliley continues to push elec dereg bill : New DOE report spotlights barriers blocking elec competition.(House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley (R-Va.) wrote to President Clinton on May 19 that only sound, comprehensive electricity deregulation legislation will prevent summer outages this summer. The Commerce Committee Chairman is not...

FTC favors HOEPA protections against predatory lending practices.(Homeowners Protection Act of 1998)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... "Not ail subprime lending is predatory but nearly all predatory lending is subprime." Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) The FTC supports the expansion of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) provisions to enhance consumer...

High tech needs antitrust.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Antitrust is a quaint 19th century program that has outlived its time, according to certain critics, many of whom apparently think Bill Gates should be nominated for deity. Without antitrust, however, a monopolist (say, Microsoft) could...

Microsoft - the remedy.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Microsoft - the remedy: "A Microsoft breakup is likely to cripple the company and create huge losses for both consumers and the economy. In his desire to enforce antitrust law, Judge Jackson needs to remember just who it is he's trying to...

Internet privacy.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Internet privacy: "Last week, after listening to false promises for five years, a majority of the Federal Trade Commission -- Republicans dissenting -- roused itself to suggest a law providing Americans the rudiments of privacy protection.......

Children's privacy.(Center for Media Education)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Children's privacy: The Center for Media Education has asked the FTC to reject "safe harbor" guidelines proposed by the Better Business Bureau's Children's Advertising Review Unit. [FTC: WATCH No. 545] CME says FTC approval of the CARU proposal...

Violence in the key of G.(Harvard University's School of Public Health)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Violence in the key of G: Add another report to the data the FTC is compiling for a report on violence in the communications media due later this summer. Fumie Yokota and Kimberly M. Thompson of Harvard University's School of Public Health...

Justice Dept. sues to block Franklin Electric, United Dominion Industries proposed JV.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... The Antitrust Division wants a federal district judge in Madison, Wisc. to block a proposed joint venture that it alleges would create a monopoly in the production and sale of submersible turbine pumps, used at gasoline service stations to...

Wells Fargo sells 3 branch banks to clear First Commerce Bancshares merger.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Wells Fargo & Co. will sell three Nebraska branches with $213 million in deposits to appease the Antitrust Division. The firm has also agreed not to try to block other financial institutions from leasing or purchasing any branches that...

22 people, 13 food companies charged with rigging bids to New York City schools.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... The Antitrust Division's criminal section has charged 22 individuals and 13 food companies with rigging bids for the sale to the New York City Board of Education of frozen food and fresh produce worth more than $210 million. Twelve of the...

Two building insulation firms and their presidents indicted for price-fixing; Third conspirator pleads guilty.(Therm-All Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... A federal grand jury in Houston has indicted Therm-All Inc., headquartered near Cleveland, Ohio, and its president, Robert L. Smigel, and Supreme Insulation Inc., headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, and its president, Tula D. Thompson...

FTC challenges Kroger's purchase of Winn-Dixie's 74 Tex. and Okla. markets.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... The Commissioners voted 5-0 on Friday, June 2 to authorize the staff to ask a federal district court in Dallas to block Kroger Co.'s proposed acquisition of 74 Winn-Dixie supermarkets, about half of them in the Ft. Worth metropolitan area. ...

Intermatic pays $250,000 to settle charges it violated a 1979 order.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Twenty-one years after the fact, a major U.S. manufacturer of consumer and industrial energy control products will hand over $25 0,000 to settle FTC allegations that it violated a 1979 order by making unsubstantiated energy savings claims about...

New York designer's trims snagged on Care Labeling Rule.(Karin Stevens Apparel Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... A New York designer and importer of ladies wear will empty its well tailored pockets of $20,000 to settle FTC allegations that it violated the FTC's Care Labeling Rule. Some of Karin Stevens' 'care labels' failed to specify a necessary...

Firms hawking auction and job opportunity info services settle fraud charges.(Consumer Information Services)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Two companies and their principles will cough up $200,000 to settle FTC allegations that they misrepresented auction or job opportunity information. Century Direct Marketing, also known as Consumer Information Services, settled FTC charges...

FTC highlights office supply fraud during Small Business Week.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... The FTC celebrated National Small Business Week last week by reminding small U.S. businesses how to defend themselves against business-to-business fraud. The agency launched a grassroots business education campaign "Project BOSS" (Banish...

The following orders are final:.(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... Texas Surgeons, P.A. File No. 981-0124; C-3944 Contact: Richard A. Feinstein, 202-326-3688 Wisconsin Chiropractic Association - C-3943 Contact: C. Steven Baker, 312-960-5634 CMO Distribution Centers of America, Inc. Doc: C-3942...

Calendar.(Commissioner Thomas B. Leary)(Brief Article)
June 5, 2000... June 7 - FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary will speak at the Los Angeles Bar Association, Antitrust Section's luncheon meeting Microsoft's additional, and probably final, comments on the proposed remedy in U.S. v. Microsoft due to Judge...

Huge civil penalty looming as license agreement failed to preserve competition.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The FTC is preparing what is described within the agency as the largest civil penalty action ever as a result of the alleged failure of a high-tech manufacturer to comply with the terms of a 1995 merger consent agreement. To persuade the...

43 companies petition FTC and FCC to condition AOL/Time Warner merger on instant messaging interoperability.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... America Online's (AOL) proposed $113 billion acquisition of Time Warner must be based on open and interoperable communication standards for instant messaging (IM) 43 major technology and instant messaging companies told the FTC and Federal...

Major online firms propose global online consumer protection guidelines.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... America Online (AOL), AT&T, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Network Solutions and Time Warner hooked up at the joint FTC-Commerce Dept. Alternative Dispute Resolution Workshop on June 6-7 to propose global online consumer protection guidelines. The...

Senate and House hearings on United/US Airways merger.
June 19, 2000... Several key Senators and House members expressed alarm about the competitive risks of the proposed $11.6 billion United/ US Airways merger during House and Senate hearings on June 13, 14 and 16. The chief concern expressed is that combining...

FTC acquiesces to Hyde's request for investigation of Chicago's high gas prices.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) and Science Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) asked the FTC to investigate high gas prices in Illinois and Wisconsin in a June 7 letter to FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky and...

Update: electricity deregulation bills.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Department of Energy (DOE) Chairman Bill Richardson came out in favor of the Clinton/Gore Administration's comprehensive electricity deregulation bill over the "Electricity Competition and Reliability Act" (H.R. 2944) that is being heavily...

House Republicans want feds' privacy policies to comply with proposed law before imposing legislation on private sector.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... "It would be hypocritical for the Federal government to mandate a standard on the private sector that it cannot itself meet." Three Republic Congressmen asked President Clinton and Vice President Gore to inform them how well the government...

Bernstein : FTC still eyeing online profiling.(Competition Bureau Chief Joan Z. Bernstein)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Many consumers are concerned about cyber marketing programs that compile consumer Internet user profiles that are linked with personally identifiable information, testified FTC Competition Bureau Chief Joan Z. Bernstein before the Senate...

FTC backs bills mandating telemarketing "do not call lists".(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The FTC favors legislative provisions that would allow consumers to place their names on mandatory "do-not-call" lists to avoid pesky telemarketing sales calls, FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Marketing Practices Associate Director Eileen...

Senate Antitrust hearing: Nurses anesthetists v. physician anesthesiologists.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Last year, in response to the Heath Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) proposed 1997 rule to scrap the requirement for physicians either to perform anesthesia services or supervise its administration by nurses, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee...

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Report.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Congress should amend the 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in five ways to improve the statute's clarity and effectiveness as a law enforcement tool, the agency advised Congress in the June 2000 FDCPA Annual Report. Give the...

Household Furniture guides review comment period extended.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Due to popular demand, the public comment period for the agency's review of the Household Furniture Industry Guides is extended up to July 10. Send comments to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-159, 600...

hotchicks.sex? Lieberman asks COPA commission to ponder creating an online red light district.(The Commission on Online Child Protection)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The Commission on Online Child Protection (COPA) should seriously explore an existing proposal to create a separate top level domain for adult material -- a virtual red light district -- Senate Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Joseph...

Your tax dollars.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Your tax dollars: The FY2001 House Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill earmarks $134.8 million for the FTC, $10 million more than for fiscal year 2000, but $29 million below the President's request. A Congressional source expects the FTC...

Microsoft.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Microsoft: the European Union's Microsoft antitrust investigation will be unaffected in the short run by U.S. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's order breaking Microsoft into two parts. According to the Associated Press, EU spokeswoman Amelia...

Maintaining the Microsoft Monopoly.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Maintaining the Microsoft Monopoly: visitors to the U.S. House of Representatives' web site, Thomas, are offered the opportunity to download a set of mailing labels for the purpose of communicating with members. The labels are offered in the...

Jackson rules, Microsoft stock rises.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Jackson rules, Microsoft stock rises: According to PBS technology columnist Robert X. Cringely, "hardware developers who want to keep their jobs and businesses, and who therefore choose to keep their names the heck out of this column," report...

Merger watch.(Glaxo Wellcome/ SmithKline Beecham merger)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Merger watch: according to the Financial Times of London, the pending Glaxo Wellcome/ SmithKline Beecham merger is encountering unexpected resistance at the FTC and may not be consummated until September.

Closed Investigation.(S.C. Johnson and Son Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Closed Investigation: The FTC's Western Regional Office in San Francisco has closed its investigation of S.C. Johnson & Sons' advertising for Windex Antibacterial Glass and Surface Cleaner. Staff investigators believe "that these advertisements...

Quotations of the week.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno speaking at the American Antitrust Institute (AAI's)'s June 15 forum that bestowed its first "level playing field award" upon Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Joel Klein: "It's easy to stand behind Joel...

Correction.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Last issue's story "Boast and Ducore on the logic of FTC divestitures" failed to note the full name and title of FTC Competition Bureau Assistant Director for Compliance Daniel Ducore.

DOJ relents on fourth try SBC competitive efforts pay off.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... SBC's recent efforts to open up its local telephone lines to competitors have gone a long way toward meeting DOJ's competitive concerns about SBC's application to provide long distance service in Texas. And those efforts have earned DOJ...

Deliberate speed, meet the "silly season" Microsoft case: Vertical forum shopping?(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The ink was dry on Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's June 7 order to split Microsoft into two separate firms -- one to concentrate on operating systems, the other on applications. But just barely. Microsoft moved for a stay of the order pending...

Prefab housing company settles faulty disclosure allegations.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... A prefabricated housing company and its principal agreed to observe all Truth in Lending Act requirements in future to settle FTC allegations that they did not disclose critical information needed to evaluate the real terms of their advertised...

Law enforcers wake up used mattress sellers.
June 19, 2000... Two used mattress retailers have agreed to settlements requiring them to accurately disclose past use and repair standards of their reconditioned mattresses to settle FTC charges that they deceptively sold rebuilt mattresses. Mega...

Two-thirds of DC car dealers not complying with FTC's Used Car Rule.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Carrying out a surprise inspection of 32 Washington D.C. used car dealers on June 8, the FTC and District of Columbia law enforcers found two thirds of DC car dealers to be significantly out of compliance with the FTC's Used Car Rule and the...

Three Ceridian Corp. applications approved, two rejected.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The Commission OK'ed the first three qualified applicants for licensing from Ceridian Corporation -- (1) Controlled Commerce Integrated Systems, Inc.; (2) Fis-Cal Systems, Inc.; and (3) Storepoint, Inc., -- and rejected those of: (4) Flying J:...

New defendants in Advanced Public Communications Corp. complaint.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The FTC has added James L. Bianco, Jr. as an individual defendant and as a company officer; and Michael Drucker's real name (Drucker's alias was Michael Davis) -- to its complaint against Advanced Public Communications Corp. that alleges...

Exxon Mobil's Alaska pipeline divestiture approved.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The Commission has approved Exxon Mobil's application to divest Mobil's interest in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) to the Williams Alaska Pipeline Company, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Williams Companies, Inc., Commissioner...

VNU, N.V.'s CMR divestiture approved.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... The FTC OK'ed VNU, N.V.'s application to divest its Competitive Media Reporting Division to an entity owned and controlled by Taylor Nelson Sofres p.l.c., a public limited company organized under United Kingdom law. Commissioner Thomas B. Leary...

Petition to modify Alliant Techsystems Order.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... Alliant Techsystems Inc. has requested that the FTC modify its original 1993 order -- prohibiting Alliant from acquiring or selling any interests or assets of system contractors for 30mm lightweight ammunition or 120mm tank ammunition without...

The Following orders are final.
June 19, 2000... Alternative Cigarettes, Inc. File No. 992-3022 Contact: Matthew Gold, 415-356-5276 Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., Inc File No. 992-3026 Contact: Michael Ostheimer, 202-326-2699 Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Puerto Rico File...

Calendar.(Brief Article)
June 19, 2000... June 21 - FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary Speech before the Chicago Bar Association, Antitrust Committee Meeting, Washington House Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 4194, the "Small Business Merger Fee Reduction Act of 2000," and five...