WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz steps down next week after a tenure that included going after drug companies paying generic firms to keep competition off the market and investigating internet company Google Inc.

“These jobs are exhilarating but exhausting,” said Leibowitz, 54, who is endlessly enthusiastic about the agency he has served since 2004, first as a commissioner and, since March 2009, as chairman. He is stepping down next week, said FTC spokesman Peter Kaplan who did not give a day.

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Tesoro Corp., one of
California’s biggest gasoline producers, has made an aggressive
play to buy a BP refinery in southern California but winning
antitrust approval will be no slam dunk.

Tesoro announced in August that it had agreed to buy BP’s
Carson plant for $2.5 billion, creating the biggest
oil-refining empire in the Pacific Basin with about a quarter of
California’s processing capacity.

WASHINGTON/ATLANTA, Feb 13 (Reuters) – US Airways and
American Airlines are likely to win approval to create the
world’s biggest carrier, with regulators expected to focus on
concessions to preserve competition in Washington, Charlotte,
Dallas and other airports where they are dominant, antitrust
experts say.

AMR Corp’s American and US Airways are in
the final stages of negotiating an $11 billion merger and a deal
is expected to be announced later this week. If approved, it
would mark the third major U.S. airline merger since 2008,
raising the specter of higher ticket prices and fewer choices
for consumers as a handful of airlines dominate the skies.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawyers squared off on Friday over U.S. rules for granting patents for software, or if software should be patented at all, in arguments in a case closely watched by Google Inc, Facebook Inc and other technology companies.

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments in the case, which involves whether patents for a computerized system for exchanging financial obligations are valid. The case has drawn wide interest because it could help determine parameters for software patent protection.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON- (Reuters) – Herbalife Ltd (HLF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares were down 4.6 percent on Monday after a newspaper reported that the seller of weight loss products faces a law enforcement probe.

The New York Post report, which sent the shares down as much as 12 percent, stems from documents the paper obtained from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The documents, which have also been seen by Reuters, stem from a complaint to the agency from a person in Durango, Iowa.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON- (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Constellation Brands Inc (STZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are discussing ways to address U.S. regulators’ antitrust concerns over their mega-merger and expect to soon open settlement talks to avoid a trial, a source close to one of the companies said on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday it was suing to block AB InBev, the world’s biggest beer maker, from buying the half of Mexico’s Modelo it does not already own for $20.1 billion, saying the combination would hinder competition and lead to higher beer prices.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) from buying the half of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that it does not already own, saying the $20.1 billion deal could mean higher U.S. beer prices.

The government’s move calls into question the future of one of the biggest deals of 2012 and a related deal that was set to change the fortunes of the world’s largest wine company, Constellation Brands Inc (STZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Shares of all three companies fell sharply on the news.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz, said on Thursday he will step down in mid-February after a tenure famous for a probe of allegations that Google manipulated search results that resulted in a mild reprimand for the technology company.

Leibowitz, a Democrat who had led the agency since 2009, told Reuters he will leave in the middle of February and take some time off before beginning work in the private sector. He does not yet have a new post.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) from buying the half of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that it does not already own, saying the $20.1 billion deal would lessen competition in the U.S. beer market.

Trading in Constellation Brands (STZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which would have become sole owner of the company that distributes Modelo’s Corona beer in the United States if the transaction had been approved, was halted after it dropped 23.8 percent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. antitrust regulators are dissatisfied with proposals made by Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in its bid to buy the half of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that it does not already own as it works to finish its investigation of the deal, a source close to the talks told Reuters.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has shifted into high gear in recent weeks as it looks at the plan by the world’s largest brewer to buy out Modelo for $20.1 billion.