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AT&T's proposed merger with BellSouth sailed through the federal antitrust review.
The Justice Department says it found nothing anticompetitive about the combination of two of the nation's largest telcos.
Now, the next regulatory clearance for the deal is expected to come tomorrow from the Federal Communications Commission.
The blessings from regulators come despite a request by lawmakers to delay the moves.
Last month, Reps. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and John Conyers, D-Mich. -- the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat of the House Judiciary Committee -- asked antitrust regulators to wait on a merger approval until a federal judge has cleared two prior telco mergers.
A federal district court judge in Washington is still hearing arguments on whether the mergers between SBC and AT&T, as well as Verizon (VZ - commentary - Cramer's Take) and MCI are in the public interest.
The lack of complications and onerous conditions attached to the Justice Department's approval, plus early signs that the FCC wasn't looking to make any demands, was seen as a good sign by some Wall Streeters.
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