As the Department of Justice scrutinizes Ticketmaster and LiveNation's proposed merger here in the US overseas the UK's main antitrust regulator already decided it has some problems with the combination of the ticketing giant and the world's largest concert promoter. This morning Britain's Competition Commission provisionally ruled against the planned merger, saying it "will limit the development of competition in the market for live music ticket retailing."    Read More

Shocking news out of Britain today: Queen Elizabeth II could run out of money by 2012 unless the government steps in and gives her a raise! But with a recession going on, it might behoove the queen to set an example for her subjects and get a real job. Here are a few suggestions for how the queen can make a buck—er, pound.   Read More

Futures weakened a bit as initial jobless claims came in slightly higher than consensus.    Read More