Delta's board of directors is expected to act on a proposal today to give CEO Richard Anderson a green light to pursue formal merger discussions with both Northwest and United. The move could spur a new round of industry matchmaking, although any big U.S. airline merger is sure to draw heavy regulatory scrutiny. Carriers believe the chances of getting one or two big deals approved by antitrust authorities are better under the current Republican administration. A new round of industry consolidation would help airlines reduce excess capacity, raise fares and boost margins battered by rising oil costs, though …

Tide--the biggest detergent brand in America--will appear for the first time on the biggest day for advertising in America. Procter & Gamble has bought time during Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 for a commercial for the Tide to Go instant stain remover. The 30-second spot is scheduled to appear in the game's second quarter. Tide to Go, which was introduced in 2005, is particularly fitting for a Super Bowl berth because of its properties as a quick stain remover, according to Suzanne Watson, Tide brand manager for North America. "There are thousands of parties that night," making …

Car companies are paying more attention to color because consumers are. Having the right--or wrong--color in stock can affect the bottom line. Design teams at automakers like Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen AG's Audi are tweaking the paint choices consumers will be reviewing for cars in 2011 and beyond. Jon Hall, Ford Motor's chief paint designer, attended about 10 fashion shows at New York Fashion Week in September. Runway season is "the time when we're actually trying to confirm our own design forecasts," Hall says. On average, a new paint color takes about five years to …

Florida lawyers are rushing to beat a deadline today for individual claims against cigarette makers after the Florida Supreme Court overturned a $145 billion punitive-damage verdict--the biggest in history--against Philip Morris USA in July 2006. The court upheld jury findings that the companies were negligent and sold defective products, however, which will apply in all the new cases. Stuart trial lawyer Willie Gary, who has filed more than 500 cases throughout the state, says the tobacco firms acted maliciously in an effort to "suck the money out" of consumers. "Nobody has the right to put a product on …

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo served Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) with demands for information as he tries to show that Intel stifled competition and hurt consumers by illegally coercing computer makers to use its chips. Intel did that through rebates, punitive pricing and exclusive contracts that shut out AMD, Cuomo alleges. The allegations may be hard to prove, given the competitive pricing of Intel's chips. "Predatory pricing and exclusive dealing are a tough case under U.S. law," says John Peirce, a partner at law firm Bryan Cave who specializes in antitrust and commercial litigation. The arrangements …