AT&T drops T-Mobile Merger, EPA releases power plant pollution standards, CFTC finalizes “swaps” rule, and much more.
- The EPA released a final rule imposing standards for control of mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants.
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission adopted a rule requiring all companies to report transactions involving over-the-counter derivatives known as “swaps.”
- Notwithstanding opposition from the US and Canada, as well as China, the European Court of Justice decided that an EU fee on airplane carbon emissions did not violate the Open Skies treaty or any other provision of international law. See related The Regulatory Review essat.
- The Federal Aviation Agency issued a final rule limiting the consecutive on-duty hours for airline pilots, seeking to reduce the risks associated with pilot fatigue.
- The Department of Transportation released a final hours of service rule that will limit truck drivers to 70 hours of work a week and impose other limitations in an effort to minimize accidents from fatigued drivers.
- AT&T has backed away from its bid for T-Mobile after the FCC and Justice Department questioned the merger on antitrust grounds. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- The FCC issues a proposed rule making changes in its media ownership rules.
- The Federal Reserve proposed a rule that would limit credit exposure between major financial firms, require banks to hold additional capital, oblige companies to perform stress tests, and more.
- California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, filed a lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to oblige them to answer questions about foreclosed properties and mortgages they had purchased. Last Friday, the Securities Exchange Comission sued 6 former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives for securities fraud.
- Citing a successful recovery under the protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will remove the grey wolf populations in the Great Lake states from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.
- Bank of America agreed to a $335 million settlement with the Justice Department over accusations that Countrywide Financial Corporation, now a subsidiary of BofA, had discriminated against African-Americans and Hispanics in its lending practices.
