Monopolies

Antitrust Division to Apply More Rigorous Standard with Focus on the Impact of Exclusionary Conduct on Consumers

May 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Christine A. Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division, today announced that the Department is withdrawing, effective immediately, a report relating to monopolization offenses under the antitrust laws that was issued in September 2008.

As of today, the Section 2 report will no longer be Department of Justice policy. Consumers, businesses, courts and antitrust practitioners should not rely on it as Department of Justice antitrust enforcement policy.    » read more »

Sen. Menendez's Tax Certificates Legislation Would Increase Competition, Diversity in Telecommunications Industry

August 5, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is supporting diversity in media ownership with new legislation to restore the tax certificate policy for sales of telecommunications properties to socially disadvantaged businesses, or SDBs.    » read more »

OPEC Operates Illegal Cartel Under International Trade Law

June 17, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a coalition of eleven Senators led by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D – NJ) called on the Bush Administration to take action in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against eight Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by ordering United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Susan Schwab to file a complaint with the WTO.

These eight countries, operating as an illegal cartel, have refused to increase production, reduced the supply of oil on the market and driven up the gas prices that consumers pay at the pump.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- Washington, D.C.- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on H.R. 6074, the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, which passed the House by a vote of 324 to 84, despite a veto threat:

“The House today with a strong bipartisan and veto-proof margin voted to hold foreign oil cartels and Big Oil accountable.

“The legislation provides the Justice Department with a critical tool to pursue antitrust actions against OPEC-controlled entities for fixing prices and creates a new Justice Department Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force to examine anticompetitive market practices in the oil industry. It also requires that the mergers of Big Oil companies in recent years be examined for anticompetitive effects.    » read more »

As Oil Company Profits Hit Record Highs, Americans Pay the Price at Pump

May 6, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Uncompetitive practices by oil companies and manipulation of the market by financial speculators are two culprits behind soaring gas prices, Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee today.

Chevron oil refinery: Photo by Garlyn (CC)    » read more »

N.J. Sen. Says OPEC Production Limits Inflate Gas Prices, Violate International Trade Laws

May 5, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late last week, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced legislation to force action against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for its anti-competitive practices and illegal export quotas on oil, which ultimately lead to higher gas prices here at home.

OPEC building, Vienna: Photo by Spino73 (CC)    » read more »

Subpoena Seeks Information on Potentially Monopolistic Practices

NEW YORK, NY (January 10, 2008) ‑ New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today served a wide-ranging subpoena seeking documents and information on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), the world’s largest maker of computer microprocessors. Cuomo is investigating whether Intel violated state and federal antitrust laws by coercing customers to exclude its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), from the worldwide market for x86 computer processing units (CPU).    » read more »

November 8, 2007: (Baton Rouge, LA) — Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr. announced today that his office has filed suit against Allstate Insurance Company, Lafayette Insurance Company, Xactware, Inc., Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, LLC, Insurance Services Office, Inc., State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, USAA Casualty Insurance Company, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Standard Fire Insurance Company and McKinsey & Company for alleged violations of the Louisiana Monopolies Act.    » read more »

Allow Lawsuits Against OPEC

May 16, 2007 -- In testimony before a congressional committee, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today called for wide-ranging measures to rein in skyrocketing gasoline prices, including break up of oil companies that engage in anti-competitive practices, allowing antitrust lawsuits against OPEC and a federal-state investigation into possible monopolistic practices by the oil industry.    » read more »