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TOTM William Kolasky (Wilmer Hale, and one of the frontrunners for the DOJ AG spot according to the rumormill) has an interesting piece in the Antitrust . . .
William Kolasky (Wilmer Hale, and one of the frontrunners for the DOJ AG spot according to the rumormill) has an interesting piece in the Antitrust Source on the DOJ Section 2 Report arguing that while…
Read the full piece here.
TOTM From the WSJ comes an editorial from Martin Neal Baily and Matthew Slaughter describe a forthcoming report from the Private Equity Council making the link . . .
From the WSJ comes an editorial from Martin Neal Baily and Matthew Slaughter describe a forthcoming report from the Private Equity Council making the link between product market competition and productivity…
TOTM Readers of TOTM know that the future of law and economics is a frequent topic of discussion here, and a topic in which I am . . .
Readers of TOTM know that the future of law and economics is a frequent topic of discussion here, and a topic in which I am both personally invested and spend a good deal of time thinking about (see, e.g. my blog series on the future of law and economics here). Legal Pad (at CNN/Fortune Magazine) announces the Kauffman Foundations plan to reinvigorate a “new” version of law and economics aimed at a new focus on static efficiency to innovation and economic growth…
TOTM There are some pretty scary devils in the details of this Detroit bailout legislation. This WSJ article provides some specifics. Under the terms of the . . .
There are some pretty scary devils in the details of this Detroit bailout legislation. This WSJ article provides some specifics.
Under the terms of the draft legislation, “the government would receive warrants for stock equivalent to at least 20% of the loans any company receives.” Let’s put that in perspective. General Motors is seeking around $10 billion in short-term loans, so the legislation would give the government the option to buy a $2 billion stake in GM. GM’s market capitalization — the market value of its outstanding stock — is currently around $3 billion. If the government were to exercise its option today, it would pay GM $2 billion (thereby enhancing GM’s value by that amount) and would receive $2 billion worth of newly issued stock in a (now) $5 billion company. Thus, the government would end up owning 40% of GM.
TOTM “Now for the evidence,” said the King. “And then the sentence.” “No!” said the Queen. “First the sentence, and then the evidence.” So goes a . . .
“Now for the evidence,” said the King. “And then the sentence.” “No!” said the Queen. “First the sentence, and then the evidence.”
So goes a famous passage of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. And so begins Whole Foods’ new lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission.
TOTM Despite rumors, slogans, and “new” conventional wisdom to the contrary (See, e.g. here, here and the Obama campaign promise to “reinvigorate merger enforcement), it is . . .
Despite rumors, slogans, and “new” conventional wisdom to the contrary (See, e.g. here, here and the Obama campaign promise to “reinvigorate merger enforcement), it is apparently not the case that the current DOJ is not interested in enforcing the antitrust laws. Perhaps it never was. This interesting interview (HT: Danny Sokol) suggests that the DOJ pressured Google and Yahoo to abandon their deal with a threat to file in federal court to enjoin the transaction.
TOTM Being a “glass is half-full” type of guy, I figured there was no way the D.C. Circuit’s decision on Whole Foods’ petition for rehearing en . . .
Being a “glass is half-full” type of guy, I figured there was no way the D.C. Circuit’s decision on Whole Foods’ petition for rehearing en banc could turn out poorly: Either the court would grant the motion and correct the panel’s mistakes, or the court would deny the motion, setting up an attractive opportunity for the Supreme Court, which hasn’t decided a significant merger case since 1974 and badly needs to update its doctrine (see, e.g., Brown Shoe, upon which the D.C. Circuit heavily relied in Whole Foods).
TOTM As noted, the FTC has exercised its right under 15 USC 56(a)(3) to petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the . . .
As noted, the FTC has exercised its right under 15 USC 56(a)(3) to petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the D.C. Circuit in its FTC v. Rambus. The FTC press release is here. The petition is here. The questions presented, as framed by the Commission are…
TOTM Yesterday I started a new TOTM feature on why price discrimination is good in light of the bad rap that the practice gets in public . . .
Yesterday I started a new TOTM feature on why price discrimination is good in light of the bad rap that the practice gets in public policy circles and with the public generally. Lest one believe that the examples of regulatory scrutiny of price discrimination in antitrust and regulated industries are special cases, a reader points me to this perfectly timed column from NY Times “Ethicist” Randy Cohen arguing that price discrimination is unethical.
