BUSINESS BRIEFS
California AG drops challenge to T-mobile-sprint merger
California’s attorney general said Wednesday that the state will not appeal a judge’s decision approving T-mobile’s $26.5 billion purchase of Sprint.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra and New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 14 state attorneys general who sued to stop the deal. They had argued that eliminating a major wireless company would harm consumers by reducing competition and adding billions of dollars in costs through higher phone bills.
The companies said the deal would benefit consumers by helping the companies build a better next-generation, 5G wireless network than each could do alone. A federal judge in New York sided with the companies in February. New York decided not to appeal a few days later.
The merger has been approved by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission. As part of its deal with the federal government, T-mobile and Sprint agreed to set up satellite TV company Dish as a new cellular competitor, though it will be a much smaller one.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., must still approve the Justice Department settlement. A California utility board also has not approved the deal yet.
US consumer prices grew 0.1% in February as food costs rose
U.S. consumer prices increased slightly last month, driven higher by more expensive food.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index ticked up 0.1% last month, matching its January increase. Prices rose 2.3% compared with a year earlier. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices increased 0.2% in February and 2.4% compared with a year earlier.
The price of clothing, used cars, and medical care rose last month, while the cost of airline fares and gas dropped.
Services, rather than goods, continue to be the main drivers of price gains. Medical care costs have increased 5.3% in the past year, while rents rose 3.3%.
Prices for new cars have risen just 0.4% in the past year, while clothing costs have fallen 0.9%.
FAA waives rules that led airlines to fly empty planes
Federal regulators waived a rule Wednesday that was causing airlines to fly nearly empty planes just to avoid losing takeoff and landing rights at major airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would suspend the rule through May 31 to help airlines that are canceling flights because of the new virus outbreak.
The FAA assigns takeoff and landing rights, or “slots,” at a few big, congested airports. Airlines must use 80% of their highly coveted slots or risk forfeiting them.
The waiver decision affects flights at John F. Kennedy and Laguardia airports in New York and Reagan Washington National Airport outside Washington, D.C.
The FAA said it also would not punish airlines that cancel flights through May 31 at four other airports where the agency approves schedules: Chicago’s O’hare International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport in New
Jersey, Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
Aviation groups lobby to maintain Hawaii commercial airfield
Two national aviation organizations have asked state and federal authorities to take steps to extend the lifespan of a commercial airfield in Hawaii.
Businesses are alarmed by the surprise announcement that the state Department of Transportation intends to pull out as landlord of Dillingham Airfield at the end of June, The Honolulu Star-advertiser reported Monday.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, representing more than 1,000 members in Hawaii, requested a postponement of the termination for at least 14 months in a March 2 letter to Democratic
Gov. David Ige.
The delay would provide sufficient time to identify a new sponsor for the airport on Oahu’s North Shore and new management for its community water system, the aircraft association said.
The United States Parachute Association sent a March 2 letter to the Federal Aviation Administration imploring the agency not to release the state from its grant obligations.