In the United States, the federal antitrust laws generally apply to commercial banking and investment banking products and services in the same manner as to other economic sectors. Similarly, the Horizontal Merger Guidelines1 (Guidelines) of the U.S. Department of Justice (Department) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission apply to the analysis of mergers across sectors. Premerger notifications relating to non-bank mergers in the financial sector are filed pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act2 and are analyzed under the Guidelines.

This submission provides an overview of the practices of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) (together, “the Agencies”) with regard to transparency and procedural fairness. Part I discusses transparency with respect to substantive standards and agency policies and procedures. Part II discusses open and frequent dialogue with the parties, and Part III addresses the closely related issue of informing parties of the allegations against them in a timely manner. Parts IV and V describe the opportunities that parties are given to respond to agency concerns and to be heard prior to an adverse decision. Part VI addresses the length of antitrust investigations, and Part VII summarizes the Agencies’ practice with regard to the publication of decisions.

The Working Group on the Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA) shall be responsible for activities related to potential accidental situations in nuclear power plants, including the following technical areas: reactor coolant system thermal-hydraulics; design-basis accident including ECCS strainer clogging; pre-core melt conditions and progression of accident and in-vessel phenomena; coolability of over-heated cores; ex-vessel corium interaction with concrete and coolant; incontainment combustible gas control; physical-chemical behaviour of radioactive species in the containment; fire safety. The activities will mainly focus on existing reactors, but will also comprise applications for some advanced reactor designs.

In terms of enforcement of competition rules, the number of decisions taken increased in 2008 compared to the previous year. While the number of merger and exemption cases increased significantly, the number of cases in the area of competition infringements (cartels, vertical restraints and abusive practices) decreased. The increasing number of exemption applications is quite striking in 2008. The main explanation for this increase comes from the introduction of 40% market share threshold in the Block Exemption Communiqué on Vertical Agreements. The agreements previously exempted lost their exempted status after the introduction of the threshold.

List of Participants for the Fourth Meeting of the International Network on Financial Education held in the Sofitel Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 14, 2009.

Advantages of starting young
* Prepare children to:
* Make good decisions about money
* Use financial products wisely
* Get ready for the world of work
* Understand the economy
* Know where to go to for help about money