Dell, Intel, and Antitrust

A story by Don Clark and Kara Scannell (of the WSJ) suggests that the investigation into Dell (mentioned yesterday) will bring to light the question of Intel rebates.

"Such rebates have been a focus of government antitrust suits against Intel in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea, which allege that the chip giant has improperly used financial incentives to its customers to discourage major computer makers from buying chips from rival Advanced Micro Devices . Intel denies the allegations, arguing that the rebates it gives customers are a lawful form of price discounting to meet competition."

Coast Guard Ordeers BP to Speed Up Cleanup

According to an NYT story: "The Coast Guard has given BP engineers to the end of the weekend to increase the containment of the oil spilling from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The order came in a letter sent to the company on Friday by Rear Adm. James A. Watson, who is the federal government’s on-scene coordinator for the cleanup effort. The letter, which was released to the media on Saturday, was sent to Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer.

'I am concerned that your current plans do not provide for maximum mobilization of resources to provide the needed collection capacity consistent with the revised flow estimates,' Admiral Watson wrote. 'Recognizing the complexity of the challenge, every effort must be expended to speed up the process.'"

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