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Strategies & Market Trends : The Thread Formerly Known as No Rest For The Wicked -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MrThesp who wrote (40313)	5/14/1999 9:45:00 AM
From: Charliss	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90042

SKYT: may be bottom here....money flow turning toward +

To: MrThesp who wrote (40313)	5/14/1999 9:48:00 AM
From: D.Austin	Respond to of 90042

MUEI----- worth a look. Oh man I've got to go to work. Dell, Micron Settle FTC Charges .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two of the largest computer makers have agreed to provide consumers with ''clear, readable and understandable information in their lease advertising,'' the Federal Trade Commission says. Dell Computer Corp. and Micron Electronics Inc. settled government charges they misled consumers with Internet advertisements to lease new computers with low monthly payments. The FTC said Thursday that ads from Dell and Micron included important cost information in inconspicuous or unreadable fine print, or they omitted the information. ''Consumers want to know what's what, and advertisers have an obligation to tell them,'' said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. The FTC settlement, approved 4-0 by the commission, becomes final after a 60-day public comment period. A spokeswoman for Dell, Libba Letton, described the problems with the company's ads as ''relatively minor and isolated, and they were quickly and easily addressed.'' Dell is the nation's top direct-sale computer maker, with sales last year of $1.7 billion. Micron, the third-largest direct-sales manufacturer, did not return calls. Under lease offers, consumers pay little or no money up front for a new computer but pay a monthly fee of $150 or less, typically for two or three years. At the end of the lease, consumers can return the machine and lease a new one with the latest technology, or they can buy the older computer for its market value, usually a set percentage of its original price. But over the long term, leasing a computer is almost always more expensive than buying one -- even if the purchase is charged to a credit card. The FTC charged that ads from Dell failed to adequately explain to consumers that low monthly payments applied to a lease and not to a purchase. Some pricing information on Internet ads from Dell and Micron actually was located on linked Web pages, the FTC charged. ''The consumer had to scroll down or click on a link to get the full information that Dell provided, and the FTC didn't think that was adequate,'' Letton said. AP-NY-05-14-99 0329EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.