In brief: McKenna suit alleges LCD price-fixing
Seattle – Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said he’s suing the makers of Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp and five other brands of liquid crystal display screens, accusing the companies of engaging in price-fixing.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court following a yearlong investigation by Washington and other states.
It alleges that company leaders regularly met in secret to agree on prices and limit production from 1998 to 2006, and it seeks restitution for state agencies and consumers as well as civil penalties.
Several of the companies and their executives have already pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges.
The defendants in Washington’s case include Epson Electronics America Inc., Hitachi Displays Ltd., LG Display America Inc., Toshiba Corp. and Samsung Electronics Company Ltd.
Associated Press
State removes 6,200 from health plan
Seattle – Some 6,200 people have been kicked off Washington’s health plan for public workers, dependents and retirees following an audit.
The Seattle Times reported that the Public Employees Benefits Board conducted its first-ever large-scale self audit and found that many people receiving benefits no longer deserved them.
They included former spouses of public employees, people who had moved out of state and children too old to be covered.
The agency says removing benefits from the 6,200 should save about $20 million in health costs they would have incurred next year.
Associated Press
Judge halts harvest of Bussel Creek timber
A federal judge has decided to put the brakes on a timber harvest project planned on more than 2,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land in the Idaho Panhandle.
This week’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge handed a victory to environmentalists and shuts down the Bussel Creek Forest Health Project, which also included more than five miles of new road construction, recreation enhancements and fire protection projects.
The Spokane-based Lands Council sued in federal court to stop the cutting of trees, including mature stands on forest land near Clarkia. Attorneys for the group claimed that logging and other activity would have fragmented mature forest habitat critical to species like the Northern Goshawk and Pileated Woodpecker.
Idaho Panhandle National Forest Spokesman Jason Kircher said the agency was reviewing the decision.
Associated Press
Briefcase
• Kohl’s Corp.’s second-quarter net income rose nearly 14 percent as the moderate-price department store chain continued to draw more shoppers from rivals for its exclusive fashions, but job worries are making customers spend less per visit.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world’s largest brewer, said Thursday that the soccer World Cup helped push up sales in the second quarter, boosting net profit by 7.5 percent to $1.15 billion. The producer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s said results this year beat its own expectations and those of market analysts and will continue to grow through 2010.
• Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. slid Thursday after the world’s biggest provider of networking gear warned of a slowdown in technology spending. Cisco CEO John Chambers told analysts Wednesday that the company is getting “mixed signals” from customers.