EU Fines Intel Record $1.45B

Say goodbye to competition, hello to gouging

(NEWSER) - AT&T's bid to buy T-Mobile is brilliant, writes Brett Arends for MarketWatch —for AT&T. For everyone else, it's "disastrous," if not downright anticompetitive. "It will let AT&T shut down a competitor, jack up prices, and save on customer service," he writes in a bleak look at the proposed merger. A fourth player "helped keep the other three at least semi-honest. If you think they’re arrogant now, just wait till they’ve cut this cozy club down to three." More»

(NEWSER) - The European Union's powerful competition commissioner slapped two energy companies with record fines of $1.53 billion today for cartel misbehavior. GDF Suez and E.ON, two of the world's biggest gas producers, colluded to avoid competition in French and German energy markets and drive up prices. It's the first time that the commission has imposed antitrust fines on an energy company, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

Smaller rival AMD has long accused it of unfair practices

(NEWSER) - The FTC has opened a formal investigation of Intel over allegations of monopolistic business practices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The world's biggest semiconductor company, which denies any wrongdoing, received a subpoena this week. Intel also learned that it faces a $25.4 million antitrust fine from South Korea, even as it prepares to fight competitor AMD’s private antitrust lawsuit in Delaware’s District Court. More»

CEO jets in to defend practices in Brussells

(NEWSER) - Intel officials testified before an EU antitrust commission yesterday in Brussels; the chipmaker is suspected of unfairly dominating the European market. Competitor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and consumer groups are testifying today, reports the Wall Street Journal. The commission will consider whether rebates Intel offered to retailers that didn’t stock AMD products hurt consumers. More»

Chip-maker's effort to squeeze competition is focus of probes

(NEWSER) - With proceedings already underway against Intel Corp. in Europe and Asia, New York's attorney general today began formally investigating whether the world's largest computer chip-maker has broken state and federal antitrust laws, Reuters reports. “Our investigation is focused on determining whether Intel has improperly used monopoly power to exclude competitors”—chiefly rival AMD—“or stifle innovation,” Andrew Cuomo said. More»