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Some Thoughts on the Nacchio Decision and Insider Trading

TOTM On the flight back from my spring break ski trip, I had a chance to read the recent Tenth Circuit opinion reversing the insider trading . . .

On the flight back from my spring break ski trip, I had a chance to read the recent Tenth Circuit opinion reversing the insider trading conviction of former Qwest CEO, Joseph Nacchio. Mr. Nacchio had been convicted of 19 counts of insider trading, sentenced to six years in prison (plus two years’ supervised release), fined $19 million, and ordered to disgorge $52 million more. In a 2-1 decision authored by Judge McConnell, the Tenth Circuit reversed Nacchio’s conviction because of the district court’s exclusion of expert testimony by Dan Fischel (my corporations prof). The court also concluded that retrial will not constitute double jeopardy because a properly instructed jury could have found Nacchio guilty of insider trading. To reach that conclusion, the court had to delve extensively into the law of insider trading and the evidence presented at trial.

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Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance

All We Are Saying Is Give PeaceHealth a Chance.

TOTM Josh had a characteristically thoughtful post last week on safe harbors for loyalty and bundled discounts. I didn’t comment on the post, with which I . . .

Josh had a characteristically thoughtful post last week on safe harbors for loyalty and bundled discounts. I didn’t comment on the post, with which I generally agree, because I was busy writing an amicus brief (also signed by Dan Crane, Richard Epstein, Tom Morgan, and Danny Sokol) in an attempt to preserve a different safe harbor for bundled discounts. That’s the safe harbor created by the Ninth Circuit’s recent PeaceHealth decision (discussed here). PeaceHealth held that…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

The Whole Foods Appeal — Wrong, but Maybe Good.

TOTM The FTC has filed its primary appellate brief in the Whole Foods case. In essence, the brief asserts two claims: that the district court evaluated . . .

The FTC has filed its primary appellate brief in the Whole Foods case. In essence, the brief asserts two claims: that the district court evaluated the Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction under an overly stringent legal standard, and that the court improperly discounted the Commission’s evidence that a Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger would reduce competition and harm consumers. While the Commission is wrong on both points, this appeal might be a good thing — it could provide the courts (maybe even the Supreme Court!) with an opportunity to do some much-needed house cleaning on merger policy.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Free to Choose (and Market) Clone-Free

TOTM The FDA has determined that milk and meat from some cloned animals (cattle, swine, and goats) is safe to eat. It has therefore lifted a . . .

The FDA has determined that milk and meat from some cloned animals (cattle, swine, and goats) is safe to eat. It has therefore lifted a moratorium on such products. But don’t expect to see milk and meat from cloned animals in your local grocery store. Cloning is incredibly expensive, so cloned animals would almost certainly never be slaughtered or used for milking. Instead, they’d be used for breeding. The idea is that we’d use cloning to create exact reproductions of animals with superior qualities, and we’d then breed those cloned specimens to generate superior offspring.

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Innovation & the New Economy

Cuomo Goes After Intel (to Get AMD Plant for NY?)

TOTM New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has issued a subpoena to Intel Corp. as part of an investigation into whether Intel’s discounting practices violate federal . . .

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has issued a subpoena to Intel Corp. as part of an investigation into whether Intel’s discounting practices violate federal or state antitrust laws. According to Cuomo’s press release, the subpoena…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Hofstra Foreign Exchange Symposium

TOTM My former co-clerk (now Hofstra Law prof) Ron Colombo asked that I pass along information on an upcoming symposium at Hofstra Law School. The symposium, . . .

My former co-clerk (now Hofstra Law prof) Ron Colombo asked that I pass along information on an upcoming symposium at Hofstra Law School. The symposium, Regulation of Currency Exchange and Its Impact on International Business, will be held at Hofstra on February 8. The keynote speaker will be Walter Lukken, Acting Chairman of the CFTC.

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What Happens When Attempted Collusion Fails

TOTM Harvard College decided this year not to offer a service option many of its customers want — early admission. When Harvard’s new policy was announced, . . .

Harvard College decided this year not to offer a service option many of its customers want — early admission. When Harvard’s new policy was announced, the dean of admissions took care to emphasize, “We’re looking for all the company we can get.” Soon thereafter, Harvard got some company; Princeton adopted a similar policy, and a number of other elite Northeastern schools began planning to cut early admission.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Scrapping the Notion of Fiduciary Duties Owed to Shareholders

TOTM U of Chicago Law Professors Douglas Baird and M. Todd Henderson (my very smart, very tall law school classmate) recently posted a provocative paper on . . .

U of Chicago Law Professors Douglas Baird and M. Todd Henderson (my very smart, very tall law school classmate) recently posted a provocative paper on SSRN. The paper, Other People’s Money, contends that “the oft-repeated maxim that directors of a corporation owe a fiduciary duty to the shareholders” is an “almost-right principle that has distorted much of the thinking about corporate law in recent decades.” Baird and Henderson argue that we should scrap this “almost-right” but mischief-causing principle in favor of a principle that would ground duties to all investors in contract.

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Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance

Intel’s Loyalty Rebates: Why the Interventionists Are Wrong

TOTM The New York Times isn’t the only one calling for the FTC to go after Intel for its purportedly exclusionary discounting. The reliably interventionist American . . .

The New York Times isn’t the only one calling for the FTC to go after Intel for its purportedly exclusionary discounting. The reliably interventionist American Antitrust Institute concurs. In a recent letter to the FTC, it wrote…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection