American Express can enforce credit card anti-steering rules

A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the way for American Express Co to enforce rules prohibiting merchants that accept its cards from steering customers toward lower-cost cards offered by competing issuers. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said a lower court judge erred in concluding that American Express' agreements violated federal antitrust law. The lawsuit against American Express had been brought by the U.S. government and 17 states.