WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, May 17 (Reuters) – U.S. refiner Tesoro
Corp. has received formal approval from antitrust
regulators to buy a BP Plc refinery in southern
California for more than $2 billion without requiring any asset
sales.

The Federal Trade Commission, which assessed the deal to
ensure it complies with antitrust law, said there was evidence
that combining the BP refinery and a Tesoro refinery, which
nearly abut each other, could reduce the cost of producing the
special, low-carbon gasoline that state law requires be sold in
California.

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Independent western U.S. refiner Tesoro Corp (TSO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) may take ownership of BP Plc’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 240,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Carson, California, as early as June 1, sources familiar with the transaction said on Thursday.

Other sources told Reuters that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which assessed the deal to ensure that it complied with antitrust law, were prepared to approve the purchase within days.

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – Independent western
U.S. refiner Tesoro Corp may take ownership of BP Plc’s
240,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Carson,
California, as early as June 1, sources familiar with the
transaction said on Thursday.

Other sources told Reuters that the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission, which assessed the deal to ensure that it complied
with antitrust law, were prepared to approve the purchase within
days.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Apple Inc responded to Justice Department accusations it conspired with publishers to push up electronic book prices, saying it negotiated with a number of publishing companies separately and crafted different agreements with each.

U.S. authorities have termed Apple a go-between among several publishing houses who had long wanted to break Amazon.com Inc’s grip on the low-cost digital book market, which had kept publishers’ prices low.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The current acting head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Teresa Stanek Rea, is the frontrunner to be named to the post permanently, according to patent experts and people briefed on the matter.

The patent office, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a primary steward of U.S. intellectual property. It has about 13,000 federal employees.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court on Monday left intact a jury verdict against electrical and hydraulic systems maker Eaton Corp Plc (ETN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) by declining to hear the company’s appeal of antitrust claims made by a rival over the sale of heavy-truck transmissions.

Z.F. Meritor, a joint venture of Meritor Inc (MTOR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), indirect subsidiary Meritor Transmission Corp and Z.F. Friedrichshafen AG ZFF.UL, had said Eaton violated antitrust laws by giving loyalty discounts in the form of rebates to truck makers who bought more than a certain percentage of parts from Eaton.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on
Monday left intact a jury verdict against electrical and
hydraulic systems maker Eaton Corp Plc by declining to
hear the company’s appeal of antitrust claims made by a rival
over the sale of heavy-truck transmissions.

Z.F. Meritor, a joint venture of Meritor Inc,
indirect subsidiary Meritor Transmission Corp and Z.F.
Friedrichshafen AG, had said Eaton violated antitrust
laws by giving loyalty discounts in the form of rebates to truck
makers who bought more than a certain percentage of parts from
Eaton.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. antitrust regulators are likely to scrutinize new forms of advertising as they mull the planned purchase by television rating giant Nielsen Holdings NV of Arbitron Inc, which dominates radio ratings, legal experts say.

The Federal Trade Commission, in assessing the $1.26 billion merger to ensure it complies with antitrust law, will likely focus on the emerging frontier – cross-platform data designed to tell advertisers in a holistic way what customers watch on television, listen to on the radio, look at online and see on their mobile devices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Apple Inc scored a win on Monday when the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that it did not violate a Google patent to make the popular iPhones.

Apple had initially been accused of infringing on six patents for iPhone-related technology covering everything from reducing signal noise to programming the device’s touch screen so a user’s head does not accidentally activate it while talking on the phone.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Justice Department and Anheuser-Busch InBev have agreed to conditions that will allow the beer giant to expand its stake in Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, according to court documents and company statements on Friday.

The department had filed a lawsuit on January 31 aimed at stopping AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer with some 200 brands, from buying the 50 percent of Modelo it does not already own for $20.1 billion.