Final Face-off in AT&T's Antitrust Trial Will Come Monday in D.C. Courtroom

AT&T Inc. and U.S. antitrust enforcers are set for their final face-off in court over the telecommunications giant's planned takeover of Time Warner Inc. now that testimony in the merger trial ended.The two sides will make closing arguments Monday in Washington before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who will decide whether to grant the Justice Department's request to block AT&T's nearly $109 billion acquisition of Time Warner on antitrust grounds.The Justice Department on Thursday finished questioning its final witness in the case, Professor Carl Shapiro, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, who reemphasized his earlier testimony that the deal will reduce competition.Makan Delrahim, who heads of the antitrust division that sued to stop the deal, sounded upbeat about the government's prospects and said both sides "did a great job" presenting their cases."We'll see what happens," he told reporters outside the courtroom. "I would never bring a case I don't think I can win."  Continue reading...