Granite State settles part of gift card lawsuit

CONCORD, N.H. - Some people who bought gift cards from a company that manages three of New Hampshire's largest malls will be getting some money back, as part of a settlement over allegations that the cards were misleading.

The state argued that gift cards from by Simon Property Group violated the state Consumer Protection Act because they included expiration dates or fees that reduced the value of the cards over time.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said the company agreed to pay $440,000 to reimburse customers who bought cards between January 1, 2004, and Sept. 1, 2005, and whose cards lost value because of the fees. A state law banning gift card expiration dates and fees that detract from the card face value went into effect Jan. 1, 2004.

Associated Press

USDA switching to 'risk-based' meat inspection

Meat processing plants operated by companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Swift & Co. may face more stringent inspections under a U.S. government plan to boost monitoring at facilities with poor food-safety records.

Plants with repeated food-safety violations would receive more scrutiny than those with better records, said Richard Raymond, the Agriculture Department's undersecretary for food safety. The "risk-based" procedures, set to start in April, will initially be used at 254 facilities out of about 5,300 the USDA now inspects on a daily basis.

The USDA plan attempts to use federal inspection resources more effectively, Raymond told reporters in a teleconference from Washington. The department "should have the ability to shift resources as needed" to protect the public, he said. Daily inspections of all plants will continue, he said.

The American Meat Institute, an industry group that includes processors such as Tyson, Cargill Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. among its members, called the USDA plan "hasty" and said it could jeopardize consumer confidence in an increasingly safe meat and poultry supply.

Bloomberg News

Sirius-XM merger getting Congressional scrutiny

The proposed $4.84 billion merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and rival XM Satellite Holdings, Inc. will undergo congressional scrutiny from lawmakers who want to know whether the combination would hurt consumers.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the planned combination on Feb. 28 with Mel Karmazin, chief executive officer of Sirius, as a star witness. The panel announced the hearing Wednesday in a joint statement by its chairman, Michigan Democrat John Conyers, and Texas Congressman Lamar Smith, the ranking Republican.

The committee will "probe whether this merger will enhance or diminish competition in the digital music distribution industry" and will lead to "increased choices and lower prices for consumers," Conyers said in the statement. Other witnesses will be determined later.

Sirius and XM will seek regulatory approval of the transaction from U.S. antitrust enforcers and the Federal Communications Commission by arguing their market is far broader than just satellite radio. While the two companies are the only U.S. competitors in the satellite industry, they say the Internet and iPods offer consumers alternatives and free radio limits the ability of the satellite companies to raise prices.

The House Judiciary Committee said it wants to explore those arguments.

Bloomberg News