Is Acquisition of Concord EFS in the Cards for First Data?

Reports that First Data Corp. may soon acquire its rival Concord EFS Inc. Value of the proposed merger deal between the two consumer-finance middlemen, which was blocked by the United States Department of Justice because it had antitrust concerns; Anticipation of a meeting between government trustbusters and First Data; Speculation about a deal between the two sides; How a settlement could be influenced by the dynamics of the debit-card business at the center of the antitrust dispute; Percentage of the debit-card market the government claims will belong to First Data if the deal goes through; First Data's claim as to how market share should be measured; Discussion of processing signature transactions and payments processed through personal identification number (PIN) networks.