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AT&T (T) has sued Samsung, LG Display (LPL), AU Optronics (AUO) and other makers OF LCD panels, alleging they colluded to fix prices in the U.S., Bloomberg reports. The suit was filed in federal court in San Francisco yesterday.

The telco asserts in the complaint that defendants “formed an international cartel illegally to restrict competition” in the U.S. in the market for LCD panels.

LG Display (LPL) shares are down sharply today amid ongoing concerns about the near-term outlook for the LCD panel sector. The worries about LPL have spilled over into other plays in the sector, pressuring shares of both AU Optronics (AUO) and Corning (GLW).

The South Korea-based company posted Q3 revenue of 5.97 billion Korean won, up 22% sequentially, and 55% year over year; Net income was up 85% sequentially, and 90% year over year.

The company expects Q4 glass shipments to be up in the high single digits, but with ASPs gradually decreasing, after a 12% increase in the third quarter.

AU Optronics Corp. (ADR) (Public, NYSE:AUO) is looking like a buy today on news of rising demand for LCD's. The company expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2009, boosted by improving demand for flat-screen TVs, especially from China.

Sluggish sales and lower prices pushed AU Optronics into the red in the past two quarters, however,  the company has recently benefited from a spate of orders from China, and a recovery in TV demand in North America.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, AU Executive

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Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Barrick Gold (ABX), Analyst initiations

The LCD flat-panel sector is seeing some strengthening in demand from a new program by the Chinese government to subsidize the purchase of TVs and other appliances by rural residents of the country, Barclays Capital analyst C.J. Muse notes in a research note.