Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved ProMedica Health System’s divestiture of its former rival, St. Luke’s Hospital, under the provisions of a Commission order. The divestiture will ensure that St. Luke’s operates as an independent, standalone community hospital serving the Toledo, Ohio area. Although ProMedica consummated its acquisition of St. […]
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Mobile Advertising Network InMobi Settles FTC Charges It Tracked Hundreds of Millions of Consumers’ Locations Without Permission
Singapore-based mobile advertising company InMobi will pay $950,000 in civil penalties and implement a comprehensive privacy program to settle Federal Trade Commission charges it deceptively tracked the locations of hundreds of millions of consumers – including children – without their knowledge or consent to serve them geo-targeted advertising. The FTC alleges that InMobi mispresented that […]
FTC Returns More Than $6 Million to Consumers Who Bought Infomercial Marketer Kevin Trudeau’s Weight-Loss Book
The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks totaling approximately $6.3 million to consumers who bought Kevin Trudeau’s book, “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.” In 2009, a federal judge ordered Trudeau to repay millions of dollars to consumers after he violated a 2004 FTC stipulated order by misrepresenting the book’s […]
Proposed Rulemaking to Remove References to Credit Ratings from the FDIC’S International Banking Regulations
FIL-40-2016 June 22, 2016 Proposed Rulemaking to Remove References to Credit Ratings from the FDIC’S International Banking Regulations Printable Format: FIL-40-2016 – PDF (PDF Help) Summary: On June 21, 2016, the FDIC Board of Directors adopted the attached Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) and request for comment, which would amend the FDIC’s international banking regulations […]
Operators of Phony Doctor Certification Program and Misleading Health and Lifestyle Websites Settle FTC Charges
SmartClick Media LLC, also doing business as Doctor Trusted, and its owner Robert Vozdecky, also known as Bill Anderson, have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their “Doctor Trusted” certification program misled consumers with bogus claims that the products sold on websites with its seal were evaluated by doctors using their medical expertise. […]
FTC Action Halts Phony OSHA Scam that Targets New Small Businesses
The Federal Trade Commission has charged a Florida man and his company with bilking at least $1.3 million from newly-opened small businesses by pretending to be a federal government agency, and threatening that the business will be shut down or fined unless they purchase occupational safety and other government regulation posters for their premises. At […]
FTC Announces Agenda for Workshop to Examine Competition and Consumer Protection Issues in the Rooftop Solar Business
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the agenda and panelists for its upcoming “Something New Under the Sun” workshop in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2016, examining competition and consumer protection issues raised by consumers’ growing use of rooftop solar panels to generate electric power. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez will give opening remarks at the […]
FTC Requires Cement Manufacturers HeidelbergCement AG and Italcementi S.p.A. to Divest U.S. Assets as a Condition of Merger
German cement producer HeidelbergCement AG and Italian producer Italcementi S.p.A. have agreed to divest a cement plant in Martinsburg, WV and up to 11 cement distribution terminals in six other states to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their proposed $4.2 billion merger would likely harm competition in five regional markets for cement in the […]
Joint Statement on the New Accounting Standard on Financial Instruments – Credit Losses
FIL-39-2016 June 17, 2016 Joint Statement on the New Accounting Standard on Financial Instruments – Credit Losses Printable Format: FIL-39-2016 – PDF (PDF Help) Summary: The federal financial institution regulatory agencies have issued a Joint Statement on the New Accounting Standard on Financial Instruments – Credit Losses regarding the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new standard, […]
FTC Halts California Based Mortgage Relief Scam
The Federal Trade Commission has charged the operators of a mortgage relief scam with bilking millions of dollars from homeowners by falsely telling them they could join a so-called “mass joinder” lawsuit that would save them from foreclosure and provide additional financial awards. “Preying on homeowners who already are financially distressed and struggling to pay […]