The Federal Trade Commission said it had...

The Federal Trade Commission said it had authorized its staff to seek a preliminary injunction against a proposed joint venture between General Electric Co. and Union Carbide Corp. The FTC has reason to believe that the venture, which would combine the firms’ silicone-based chemical operations, could lessen competition substantially in the production and sale of the organic material, the commission said in a release. A GE-Union Carbide venture would likely diminish actual or potential competition in several different product markets, it added. U.S. silicone product sales totaled about $1.1 billion in 1986.