Acting antitrust chief stepping down at dept.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sharis Pozen, the acting head of the Justice Department's antitrust division during when the department went to court to challenge the merger of AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc., is resigning effective April 30. Under her leadership, the antitrust division argued that the AT&T transaction with T-Mobile would reduce competition in the mobile wireless industry and result in higher prices. The companies ended up abandoning the deal. Pozen came to the department in 2009, serving as a key deputy to antitrust division chief Christine Varney, who resigned last August. The Obama administration has not named a replacement for Varney. A long-time Washington lawyer, Pozen spent five years at the Federal Trade Commission as an adviser to two commissioners and as assistant to the director of the bureau of competition. Published: Wed, Jan 25, 2012