The opinion issued today by U.S. District Court judge Emmet Sullivan doesn’t actually say that the country’s biggest office supply chain, Staples, can’t acquire the #2 office supply chain, Office Depot. As the Federal Trade Commission requested, the judge granted a preliminary injunction stopping the merger. That prevents the companies from merging until the FTC is done with their administrative antitrust case, but representatives of the two companies previously said that they would break the engagement if the FTC prevailed. [More]
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Judge Scolds FTC For Maybe Telling Amazon Exec What To Say In Staples-Office Depot Hearing
By 3.24.16
Is Amazon a valid competitor to Staples and Office Depot for the business of corporate office supply customers? In a hearing in the federal lawsuit that the Federal Trade Commission has filed against the two retailers, the government argues that it isn’t yet, and the two stores argue that it is, or soon will be. Yesterday, an attorney for Staples accused the FTC of telling an Amazon executive what to say in his testimony about his company’s plans for office supply domination, earning criticism from the judge. [More]
Federal Prosecutors Accuse Toys ‘R’ Us Employee Of Stealing $2 Million From Accounts For Truckers
By 3.23.16
Here’s how eCash for truck drivers at Toys ‘R’ Us was supposed to work. Authorized employees would load the cash on drivers’ debit cards, and the drivers would use that money for things like meals, lodging, and repairs to their vehicles. Employees other than drivers are not supposed to load up a debit card with company money, then withdraw cash at an ATM. Yet one man is accused of doing exactly that, taking out $1.89 million over a period of almost three years. [More]
Staples, Office Depot, And FTC Make Opening Arguments In Merger Hearing
By 3.21.16
Today was the first day of the federal court hearing where Staples and Office Depot are making their cases about whether a proposed merger of the two companies would be beneficial to or terrible for consumers. Today, both sides made their opening arguments. The FTC is concerned about possible price hikes for consumers, and the two office supply companies are concerned that Amazon is going to crush them. [More]
Couple Plead Guilty To Scamming Kohl’s Of $600,000 In Rewards Cash
By 10.29.15
Sure, sometimes that Kohl’s cash you earned goes to waste: you forgot about it or found there simply wasn’t anything in the store you could use it on. One New Jersey couple apparently didn’t have those problems. Instead, police say they created a system to scam the retailer’s rewards program to the tune of $600,000 in products. [More]
Judge To Growers: Pasteurize Your Almonds
By 3.14.09
Finally, you can nosh on delicious almonds safe in the knowledge that they’re pasteurized and salmonella free. A federal judge this week tossed out a lawsuit aimed at blocking new rules from the Department of Agriculture requiring growers to pasteurize their almonds. Growers are now whining that U.S. consumers area about to get hooked on raw yet dangerously delicious European almonds.
