The US Justice Department’s antitrust chief said on Wednesday that the huge fine European regulators imposed on Microsoft Corp. was ‘‘unfortunate’’ and that other sanctions against the company could have ‘‘unintended consequences’’. While avoiding direct criticism of the European Commission, Assistant Attorney General Hewitt Pate warned against ‘‘protecting competitors, not competition, in ways that may ultimately harm innovation and the consumers that benefit from it’’. Pate’s statement came after EU regulators ordered Microsoft to pay a record 497 million euro ($606 million) fine for violating EU antitrust law, and to change its business model to stop crushing rivals. The European sanctions against Microsoft are stronger than those contained in a settlement US Antitrust enforcers at the Justice Department reached with Microsoft in 2001. Specifically, the Commission ordered Microsoft to sell a version of Windows without its Windows Media Player and take other steps to give competitors in audio-visual software and servers a fairer chance to compete. Pate said forcing the removal of the media player from Windows, including its underlying computer code, was a break from the Justice Department’s approach. Pate also expressed reservations about the size of the fine imposed on Microsoft, noting that it was the largest antitrust fine ever imposed. ‘‘For this fine to surpass even the fines levied against members of the most notorious price-fixing cartels may send an unfortunate message about the appropriate hierarchy of enforcement priorities,’’ Pate said. Pate said, however, that the Department would continue to work cooperatively with EU antitrust enforcers, adding that they still have an ‘‘overall strong and positive relationship’’. Lilly’s marketing practices under scannerNEW YORK: Eli Lilly and Co. said on Thursday that the US Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania is investigating its marketing practices of certain drugs, the most recent in a slew of probes into the pharmaceutical industry. Lilly said it would cooperate with the investigation, that probably targets promotional practices for osteoporosis drug Evista, antidepressant Prozac and schizophrenia treatment Zyprexa. The Indianapolis drugmaker said that the probe could have a negative impact on its finances, even though it could not predict the outcome of the investigation. Government officials in Pennsylvania have been particularly active in pursuing drugmakers and other health-care companies that might be engaging in improper practices to boost their profit. Earlier this month, the state sued 13 drug companies, claiming deceptive pricing and sales practices. The US Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia last summer assumed the lead in a whistle-blower lawsuit again Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefits manager that prosecutors say put its profit ahead of fulfilling its mission to lower the cost of drugs. Shell, Libya in oil and gas partnershipLONDON/TRIPOLI: Oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell seized on warmer ties between Libya and the West on Thursday, signing an industry partnership with the oil-rich country 20 years after the company stopped work there. Libyan officials and the Anglo-Dutch group, whose move puts Libya back on the radar for the world’s top oil firms, said that it was too early to talk about specific deals. However, officials accompanying British PM Tony Blair on a landmark visit to Tripoli said Shell was on the verge of a $200-million natural gas project there. Shell’s statement gave no financial details and said it would ‘‘continue negotiations on specific projects in Libya in the course of 2004’’. A Shell spokesman said the company was mainly looking at onshore exploration and LNG projects. As Blair shook hands with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s Foreign Minister, Mohamed Abderrhmane Chalgam told reporters that he had over 180 contracts to hand out and that the bidding process would be open. ‘‘We want to rehabilitate our oilfields and upgrade the facilities,’’ he said. ‘‘Shell is very important but it is open to competition.’’ He said Libya had also been talking to potential partners in the US, including the president of Occidental, which recently opened an office in Tripoli. A group of other US firms called Oasis is also keen to renew contracts on Libyan acreage, dormant since US sanctions isolated the nation in the 1980s. They are set to expire next year. Shell’s move puts Libya on the map for the first time in the 21st century with one of the world’s top three oil firms, even though up until the late 1960s Libya produced a quarter of all the crude oil consumed in Europe. (Reuters)
