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The Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission will host a public conference in Washington, DC, on January 14, 2005, to examine two recent studies focusing on the price effects of mergers and concentration in the United States petroleum industry. The conference, which is open to the public, will be held at the FTC’s Conference Center located at 601 New Jersey Ave., NW. Preregistration is not required, and members of the media are welcome to attend the one-day event, which begins at 9 a.m.

The conference brings together a group of independent economic experts to evaluate two studies examining price effects within the petroleum industry. The first is a March 2004 case study of the effects of the recent Marathon/Ashland Corp. joint venture. The second is the May 2004 report by the Government Accountability Office that examined the effects of mergers and market concentration in the U.S. petroleum industry.

FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras and Bureau of Economics Director Luke Froeb will give welcoming remarks at the conference. The economists scheduled to participate in the high-level, econometric discussion are from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, the University of Chicago, and the University of California at San Diego. A preliminary agenda can be found as a link to this press release on the FTC’s Web site.

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Reporters unable to attend may listen in on the conference by calling: 800-377-4872 Confirmation number: 35690149 Chairperson: Bruce Jennings. The lines will open at 8:45 am.

CALL-IN LINES ARE FOR REPORTERS ONLY