Announced Actions for March 14, 1997

Commission action regarding applications for approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has ruled on an application for approval of a transaction from the following:

• The FTC has granted the application of Johnson & Johnson, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, to divest Cordis Corporation’s neuroscience business to Elekta AB, a Swedish corporation which has offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami, Florida. Divestiture of this business was required under an April 1996 consent order designed to restore competition for cranial shunts used in the treatment of hydrocephalus -- a potentially fatal condition affecting infants and children -- and was part of a settlement of FTC charges that J&J’s acquisition of Cordis substantially reduced competition for these products. (See Dec. 20, 1995 news release for more details regarding the consent order; Docket No. C-3645; Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 5-0.) Staff contact is Daniel Ducore, 202-326-2526.

Consent agreements given final approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following entities. The Commission action makes the consent order binding on the respondents.

• The consent order with Progressive Mortgage Corporation, of Cleveland, Ohio, and its president, Sanford Cramer, settles charges over their mortgage lending services. The FTC alleged that both failed to include premiums for mortgage insurance in calculating the finance charge and the annual percentage rate (APR) for mortgage loans, and that they failed to accurately disclose the payment schedule and total of payments in their Truth in Lending Act disclosure statements. Cramer also allegedly provided false and misleading information about the APR, finance charge, monthly payment and total of payments in disclosures to consumers. The consent order bars both respondents from misrepresenting any term or condition of financing. Cramer also is barred from misrepresenting the APR and finance charge of consumer loans; the number, amount and timing of mortgage payments; and the total number of payments to repay consumer loans. (See Nov. 25, 1996 news release for more details regarding this case; Docket No. C-3724; Commission vote to issue the order as final was 5-0.) Staff contact is John M. Mendenhall, FTC Cleveland Regional Office, 216- 522-4210.

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.