Nor is there much concern that such international alliances would diminish competition.

"That would diminish competition and the thrift's ability to best serve their customers," said Donald Ogilvie, executive vice president of the bankers association.

The union was formally proposed but was rejected in 1979 by the Civil Aeronautics Board, on the ground that it would diminish competition.

Survival Of the Fiercest The effort to enhance his bower's attractiveness and to diminish competition for mates keeps the male bowerbird fully occupied.

There is no legal principle that says the N.F.L. diminishes competition by not letting the Browns move.

But it is also an important tool for the Justice Department to challenge business deals that diminish competition and hurt consumers.

Janet Yale, the executive vice president for corporate affairs at Telus, dismissed suggestions that deregulation would ultimately diminish competition.

In 2000, European regulators blocked a proposed merger, expressing concerns that a joining of the companies would diminish competition.

Critics have called the proposal the latest in a series of measures intended to bolster the pro-Kremlin party, United Russia, and diminish political competition.

Member States should not be allowed to allocate newly freed-up spectrum to a specific market player if that would diminish or distort competition in the market.