A group representing big-spending national advertisers said Sunday it sent a letter to the Justice Department asserting an online ad partnership between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. will stifle competition and likely raise prices.
The Association of National Advertisers said on its Web site that the letter to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, came after a “comprehensive, independent analysis” and meetings with Google and Yahoo executives.
The ANA did not disclose the text of the letter but said it states its concern that “a Google-Yahoo partnership will control 90 percent of search advertising inventory and … will likely diminish competition, increase concentration of market power, limit choices currently available and potentially raise prices to advertisers for high quality, affordable search advertising.”
The ANA says it represents 400 companies – inclu ding Apple Inc., The Coca-Cola Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., Proctor & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp. – with 9,000 brands.
The Justice Department and several state attorneys general are examining the partnership between Yahoo and Google, which would allow Google to sell some of the ads displayed alongside search results on Yahoo’s Web site. Yahoo and Google have insisted the deal would benefit consumers and advertisers.
U.S. lawmakers, as well as consumer and civic groups, have also voiced concern over the deal.
Yahoo embraced the partnership with its rival as an alternative to a $47.5 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft Corp.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More