News Releases for September 2008

September 15, 2008

• For Release: September 15, 2008
  FTC Challenges Vertical Agreement Between Fresenius and Daiichi SankyoCommission Order Prevents Fresenius From Inflating Medicare Reimbursement Rates for Dialysis Drug
• For Release: September 15, 2008
  Statement of FTC Chairman William E. Kovacic on Protecting Consumers Following Hurricanes Ike and GustavThe Federal Trade Commission will be working with the Department of Energy (DOE) and state regulatory agencies to ensure consumers are being treated fairly in the wake of hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
• For Your Information: September 15, 2008
  FTC Warns Consumers About Possible Charity ScamsThe Federal Trade Commission urges consumers to be cautious of potential charity scams in connection with the damage caused by hurricanes Ike and Gustav along the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest.
• Media Advisory: September 15, 2008
  FTC’s ‘Operation False Cures’ Targets Peddlers of Bogus Cancer Remedies Commission Launches Public Education Campaign

September 12, 2008

• For Your Information: September 12, 2008
  Advice for Consumers Facing Hurricane IkeThe Federal Trade Commission has advice for people who find themselves in the path of Hurricane Ike.
• For Release: September 12, 2008
  FTC Issues Final Order on Remand in Case of North Texas Specialty PhysiciansTextual Changes Made to Paragraph II.A.2 to Ensure Consistency with Fifth Circuit Opinion
• For Release: September 12, 2008
  Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice Issue Joint Statement on Certificate-of-Need Laws in IllinoisAgencies Say CON Laws Undercut Consumer Choice, Stifle Innovation and Weaken Markets’ Ability to Contain Health Care Costs
• For Release: September 12, 2008
  Commission Approves Extension of Divestiture Period in Matter of Linde AG, et al.The Commission has approved an extension of time under the order it issued concerning Linde AG, et al.’s acquisition of The BOC Group.

September 11, 2008

• For Release: September 11, 2008
  FTC Testifies on the “Call Center Consumer’s Right to Know Act”The Federal Trade Commission provided testimony today before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection regarding H.R. 1776, legislation entitled the “Call Center Consumer’s Right to Know Act.”

September 10, 2008

• For Release: September 10, 2008
  FTC Issues Administrative Challenge to Polypore International, Inc.'s Consummated Acquisition of Microporous Products L.P. and Other Anticompetitive ConductConduct Allegedly Harms Competition in North American Markets for Battery Separators
• For Your Information: September 10, 2008
  FTC’s AmeriDebt Lawsuit Resolved: Almost $13 Million Returned to 287,000 Consumers Harmed by Debt Management ScamThe Federal Trade Commission announced today that the agency returned approximately $12.7 million to consumers this week from a settlement with Andris Pukke and his companies, AmeriDebt, Inc. and DebtWorks, Inc.
• For Your Information: September 10, 2008
  FTC Extends Public Comment Period in Petroleum Industry Market Manipulation NPRM Proceeding To October 17, 2008; Announces Details for Public WorkshopThe Commission today announced an extension of the public comment period for the recently issued Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on petroleum industry market manipulation. The Commission posted the NPRM on the FTC’s Web site on August 13, 2008.
• For Release: September 10, 2008
  FTC Announces Public Workshop on Basics of the Premerger Notification ProgramHalf-Day Event to be Held in Washington, DC, on October 23, 2008
• For Release: September 10, 2008
  FTC Obtains Court Order Against Husband-Wife Credit Repair TeamThe Federal Trade Commission charged two credit repair marketers with violating federal law by collecting advance payment for credit repair services and falsely promising to remove derogatory information from consumers’ credit reports – even if the information is accurate and not obsolete.
• For Release: September 10, 2008
  FTC Testifies on Prepaid Phone Card FraudThe Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that while the FTC will continue its aggressive law enforcement and consumer education programs in the prepaid calling card arena, pending legislation would benefit consumers by providing “an additional remedy to those already available to the Commission.”

September 9, 2008

• For Release: September 9, 2008
  Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage to Pay $28 Million to Settle FTC Charges of Unlawful Mortgage Servicing and Debt Collection PracticesThe Bear Stearns Companies, LLC and its subsidiary, EMC Mortgage Corporation, have agreed to pay $28 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they engaged in unlawful practices in servicing consumers’ home mortgage loans.

September 8, 2008

• For Release: September 8, 2008
  FTC Commissioners React to Department of Justice Report, “Competition and Monopoly: Single-Firm Conduct Under Section 2 of the Sherman Act”Today the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) independently issued a report on Section 2 of the Sherman Act, the statute that protects Americans from predatory or monopolistic harm.

September 5, 2008

• For Your Information: September 5, 2008
  Commission Approves Final Consent Order in the Matter of We Give Loans, Inc.; FTC Approves Final Consent Order in the Matter of American Advance.comCommission approval of final consent orders – Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved the issuance of a final consent order in the matter concerning We Give Loans, Inc., and Aliyah Associates LLC, d/b/a AmericanAdvance.com.

September 4, 2008

• For Release: September 4, 2008
  Commission Announces Next U.S. Roundtable on ‘FTC at 100: Into Our Second Century’Event to be Held at Northwestern University School of Law on September 25, 2008
• For Release: September 4, 2008
  Eligible Consumers Have 11 Days to Apply for Airborne RefundsSeptember 15 is the last day for eligible consumers who purchased Airborne products over a six-year period to apply for refunds.

September 2, 2008

• For Release: September 2, 2008
  Marian R. Bruno Named Deputy Director of FTC’s Bureau of CompetitionNorman Armstrong, Jr. Named Acting Deputy Director