Announced Actions for January 19, 2001

Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following: R.S. of Houston Workshop, Ronald J. Schoemmell and Valdimar Thorkelsson. The Commission vote to finalize the consent agreement was 5-0. (FTC File No. 002-3024; staff contact is Peter W. Lamberton, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3274; see press release dated October 31, 2000.)

Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final a consent agreement with the following: WFS Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a The Cash Nursery, Rabb Sabin and Arthur Smith. The Commission vote to finalize the consent agreement was 5-0. (FTC File No. 002-3025; staff contact is Karen Leonard, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3597; see press release dated October 31, 2000.)

Publication of Federal Register notices:

The Commission has approved the publication of a Federal Register notice regarding the following: Statutorily Mandated Changes in the Jurisdictional Thresholds for Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Under Section 8 of the Clayton Act, as amended in 1990, by January 31 of each year the FTC is required to calculate and publish revised jurisdictional thresholds that trigger the Act's prohibition of interlocking directorates. That is, with certain exceptions, one person is prohibited from serving as a director or officer to two competing corporations if two financial thresholds are met. The annual revisions of these thresholds are based on the change in the United States' gross national product ("GNP"). As detailed in the Federal Register notice, due to changes in the GNP, for fiscal year 2001, the $10 million threshold becomes $18,142,000 and the $1 million threshold becomes $1,814,200. The new thresholds take effect immediately. The Commission vote to publish the Federal Register notice was 5-0. (FTC File No. P859910; staff contact is H. Gabriel Dagen, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2573.)

The Commission has approved publication of a Federal Register notice regarding the following: The FTC Public Roundtable on Dispute Resolution for Online Business-to-Consumer Contracts. As detailed in the notice, which will be published shortly, on February 6, 2001, the Commission will hold a roundtable discussion at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. to discuss: 1) recommendations by business and consumer groups regarding the use of alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") for online consumer disputes; and 2) a proposed provision in the Preliminary Draft Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments being negotiated by the Hague Conference on Private International Law that provides special jurisdiction rules for international consumer contracts. The roundtable, which is open to the public, will begin at 9:30 a.m. and registration is not required. Requests for participation as a panelist should be directed to the FTC staff contact at the following address: 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., by fax at 202-326-3392 or by e-mail at: mmithal@ftc.gov. The Commission vote to publish the Federal Register notice announcing the roundtable was 5-0. (File No. P994313; staff contact is Maneesha Mithal, 202-326-2771.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the online complaint form. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.