Rite Aid completes Coutu deal after antitrust OK

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 4 - Rite Aid Corp. said on Monday it had completed its acquisition of the Brooks and Eckerd drugstore chains in the United States after U.S. antitrust authorities said they had reached an agreement clearing the way for the deal. The acquisition of 1,854 Brooks and Eckerd stores from Jean Coutu Group Inc. was finalized shortly after the Federal Trade Commission announced the companies had alleviated antitrust concerns by agreeing to sell 23 pharmacies in markets around the United States.



"With a much larger Rite Aid, we're confident we will have substantial opportunities to reduce costs, improve operations and grow earnings per share, which will generate greater value for our shareholders." Rite Aid President and Chief Executive Mary Sammons said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Record U.S. Gasoline Prices Are Result of Refining Disruptions, FTC Says

(Bloomberg) -- Record-high U.S. gasoline prices
appear to be due to refinery outages, increased demand and
decreased imports, the Federal Trade Commission said.

``The lion's share of the recent increase in gasoline prices
appears to be attributable to three factors: refinery outages,
increased demand for gasoline and decreased gasoline imports,''
William Kovacic, a commissioner with the FTC, said in prepared
comments to a House Energy subcommittee today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News