A federal jury has convicted AU Optronics and two of its executives of colluding with its rivals to fix the price of liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, securing a significant victory for the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division and leaving the company facing a potential US$1 billion fine.

Thomas Rosch, commissioner at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), says he plans to remain at the agency until a new commissioner is nominated and confirmed to take his place, even if that occurs after his current term expires in September.

The US Department of Justice is close to filing antitrust lawsuits against technology company Apple and five of the country’s largest book publishers unless the companies agree to alter their model for selling electronic books, press reports indicate.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) yesterday opened a Phase II review of Woolworths-owned Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group’s (ALH) proposed acquisition of 31 hotels and a packaged liquor licence.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday ordered Verizon Wireless to uncensor documents relating to its deals with cable companies, following requests by companies including T-Mobile and Sprint.

US Federal Trade Commission officials have this week defended the agency against potential deep budget cuts and the loss of its landmark headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has told a New York federal court that it should not require financial services company Morgan Stanley to admit liability in an antitrust case before approving the company’s settlement with the government.

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading yesterday announced it will not ask to review International Airline Group’s (IAG) proposed takeover of Lufthansa’s BMI, leaving the European Commission to scrutinise the deal.

The deputy general director of Vietnam’s Competition Authority has suggested that the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consider adopting an EU-style, collective competition policy to police mergers and cartels that cross its members’ borders. Ron Knox in Singapore

Rod Sims, the chairman of Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission, says that antitrust enforcers in the Asia-Pacific region have to move from friendly cooperation to entrenched partnerships in which agencies work together on merger and cartel probes. Ron Knox in Singapore

The European Commission this week began its scrutiny of Sony/ATV’s proposed takeover of EMI’s music publishing business, examining a deal that if approved will create the largest business of its kind and reduce the number of major record companies from four to three.

Despite calls from the Competition Commission (CC) to accept its fate, BAA has filed a further appeal with the UK courts to challenge an order that it must sell London Stansted airport.

Australia’s flagship National Broadband Network (NBN) cleared a significant hurdle yesterday as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved undertakings from telecoms provider Telstra designed to address competition concerns stemming from its role in the enterprise.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has amended its merger control rules, simplifying the merger review application process and exempting more non-problematic mergers from antitrust scrutiny.

The Philippines is moving closer to establishing its first comprehensive competition law, as a bill to consolidate and strengthen the country’s existing antitrust legislation and create a Fair Trade Commission progresses through the senate.