Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

It’s like it is 1997 all over again with the Federal Trade Commission stepping in to block a merger between Staples and Office Depot on grounds that the deal would diminish competition.

The founder and ousted CEO of the embattled American Apparel is nothing if not determined.

Charney said he has hired Los Angeles-based Cardinal Advisors to evaluate options as he explores plans with new and existing investors and industry executives to revive the company, which filed for bankruptcy in October.

The chief executives of H&M, Gap Inc. and five other apparel companies are urging world leaders to agree to a strong climate change deal.

The leaders say they fear global warming will drive up their costs by having a negative impact on cotton production, Reuters reported. 

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Staples is willing to sell more assets to win antitrust approval for its $6.3 billion takeover of Office Depot, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. According to the wire service, representatives from Staples and Office Depot are meeting this week with Federal Trade Commission officials ahead of a Dec. 8 deadline for the agency to decide whether to approve the deal. [Bloomberg]

The Home Depot Inc. has reached a contingent settlement with MasterCard International Inc. over the home improvement giant's massive 2014 data breach, according to a new report. The Atlanta Business Journal says that while a contingent deal with MasterCard International appears to have been reached, other financial institutions suing the retailer say they want more information. [Atlanta Business Journal]

Target Corp. has tentatively reached another milestone in its continuing efforts to remediate financial losses caused by its massive 2013 data breach.

Save-A-Lot, the deep-discount division of grocery giant Supervalu, on Wednesday named a supermarket veteran with more than 30 years of experience as its new CEO. Eric Claus, 59, takes the reins of Save-A-Lot after spending the past two-plus years as chairman, president and CEO of Red Apple Stores Inc., a chain of value retail stores based in Canada.

The Federal Trade Commission is poised to block Staples Inc.’s proposed take-over of rival Office Depot, according to the New York Post.

The newspaper reported that federal regulators are "leaning against the deal and are preparing to block it."

According to the report, the FTC is mostly concerned that a merger between the two office supply retailers will result in a single nationwide giant to serve big corporate and government clients.

The FTC has until Dec. 8 to decide whether to sue to halt the deal after extending its review.