WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The acting head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Joseph Wayland, will step down as of November 16, a department spokeswoman said on Thursday.

No one has been named to be the acting assistant attorney general for antitrust, said the spokeswoman, Gina Talamona.

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) – The acting head of the U.S.
Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Joseph Wayland, will
step down as of Nov. 16, a department spokeswoman said on
Thursday.

No one has been named to be the acting assistant attorney
general for antitrust, said the spokeswoman, Gina Talamona.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some U.S. craft brewers are uneasy about plans by Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to buy out Mexican beer maker Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), fearing the giant’s increased power could make it harder for them to hitch a ride on delivery trucks to stores and pubs.

Brewers, as well as beer wholesalers and members of Congress, have been quietly taking this concern and others to the Justice Department, which is investigating whether the $20.1 billion deal complies with antitrust law. The department has given no sign of being ready to make a decision.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Telecommunications
companies said they were working to restore services on
Wednesday after floods and power outages from Hurricane Sandy
affected mobile phones, Internet, home phones and cable
television in the U.S. Northeast.

Rivals AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA said they agreed to
open their networks to each other’s customers in New York and
New Jersey to help their coverage as a result of the storm.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Telecommunications
companies said they were working to restore services on
Wednesday after floods and power outages from Hurricane Sandy
affected mobile phones, internet, home phones and television in
the U.S. Northeast.

Rivals AT&T Inc and T-Mobile USA said they agreed to
open their networks to each other’s customers in New York and
New Jersey to help their coverage as a result of the storm.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sherwin-Williams Co and a unit of PPG Industries that sells Pittsburgh Paints have agreed to stop advertising some of their paints as having “zero” harmful chemicals, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

The FTC, which frequently challenges companies for deceptive advertising, said that Sherwin-Williams Dutch Boy Refresh and PPG’s Pure Performance paints both contained “more than trace levels” of volatile organic compounds, which are potentially harmful.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s top maker of smartphones, infringed Apple patents to make its smartphones and tablets, a U.S. trade panel judge said in a preliminary decision issued on Wednesday.

Apple had filed a complaint in mid-2011, accusing Samsung of infringing its patents in making its Captivate, Transform and Fascinate smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tablet.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which is battling Apple Inc across the globe for dominance of the smartphone market, dealt the California company a setback by winning a preliminary invalidation of a key Apple patent, according to a court filing.

The fight is related to Apple’s war against Google, whose Android software powers many of Samsung’s devices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The majority of top decision-makers at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission believe that an antitrust case should be brought against Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), meaning the search giant could soon be headed into tough negotiations, three people familiar with the matter said.

Four of the FTC commissioners have become convinced after more than a year of investigation that Google illegally used its dominance of the search market to hurt its rivals, while one commissioner is skeptical, the sources said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – The majority of top
decision-makers at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission believe
that an antitrust case should be brought against Google Inc
(GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research), meaning the search giant could soon be headed into
tough negotiations, three people familiar with the matter said.

Four of the FTC commissioners have become convinced after
more than a year of investigation that Google illegally used its
dominance of the search market to hurt its rivals, while one
commissioner is skeptical, the sources said.