Showing 9 of 659 Publications in FTC

DC Cracks Down on Price Gougers

TOTM After a year long investigation, Michael Giberson (of the excellent Knowledge Problem) points to the DC Attorney General’s announcement that a single retailer has agreed . . .

After a year long investigation, Michael Giberson (of the excellent Knowledge Problem) points to the DC Attorney General’s announcement that a single retailer has agreed to pay a fine of $897.61 without admitting any wrongdoing.  Yes, 900 bucks.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Hovenkamp on Slotting, Discounts, and Competition for Distribution

TOTM Like Thom, I also have spent the last few weeks reading Herbert Hovenkamp’s excellent new antitrust book, The Antitrust Enterprise: Principles and Execution. I am . . .

Like Thom, I also have spent the last few weeks reading Herbert Hovenkamp’s excellent new antitrust book, The Antitrust Enterprise: Principles and Execution. I am looking forward to Thom’s review in the Texas Law Review, and wholeheartedly agree with him that Hovenkamp’s book is an important and significant contribution to the antitrust literature (see also Randy Picker’s book review here describing “The Antitrust Enterprise as The Antitrust Paradox for a post-Chicago antitrust landscape”). I’m still digesting most of the book, and perhaps will share some more thoughts in this space later on, but thought I would chime in with some thoughts on two issues relevant to my own research on slotting contracts, discounts, and competition for product distribution.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Supremes Take New Antitrust Cases

TOTM Hanno Kaiser at the Antitrust Review reports (courtesy of the ABA listserv) that SCOTUS has granted cert in Weyerhauser (predatory buying) and Twombly (pleading standards), . . .

Hanno Kaiser at the Antitrust Review reports (courtesy of the ABA listserv) that SCOTUS has granted cert in Weyerhauser (predatory buying) and Twombly (pleading standards), but not Schering-Plough (reverse payments).

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Salinger on Price Gouging

TOTM Economist Michael Salinger, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics for the past year, comments on the recent FTC Report and price gouging . . .

Economist Michael Salinger, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics for the past year, comments on the recent FTC Report and price gouging in Sunday’s WSJ (HT: Greg Mankiw). I have blogged a bit about the FTC Report previously: once about its findings (that “market manipulation” did not explain post-Katrina price increases), once about media reactions to the Report, and again criticizing the ill-advised proposed federal price gouging legislation.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

The FTC Report on Price Gouging (And Its Absence)

TOTM The Federal Trade Commission was directed to investigate the possibility of price gouging and manipulation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The FTC released its . . .

The Federal Trade Commission was directed to investigate the possibility of price gouging and manipulation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The FTC released its 222 page report today (HT: Antitrust Review). It is a comprehensive analysis of local, regional, and national prices before and after Katrina and Rita. One of the key tasks charged to the FTC was the search for “gouging” and other anticompetitive practices.

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Economic Illiteracy of the Week?

TOTM Via Ted Frank at Point of Law, the House has overwhelmingly passed a price gouging bill that will not help consumers, but on the bright . . .

Via Ted Frank at Point of Law, the House has overwhelmingly passed a price gouging bill that will not help consumers, but on the bright side, is likely to provide a fresh example for microeconomics instructors teaching the consequences of price controls. The award for economic illiteracy of the week goes to the whole House, but special mention should be made for Joe Barton, Head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to whom the WSJ attributes the following words…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Thoughts on the Economics of Lawyer Licensing

TOTM Larry Ribstein and Jonathan Wilson have an interesting exchange going regarding the merits of lawyer licensing. Larry actually has several posts on the subject (see, . . .

Larry Ribstein and Jonathan Wilson have an interesting exchange going regarding the merits of lawyer licensing. Larry actually has several posts on the subject (see, e.g., here, here, and a paper here). WSJ Law Blog has picked up the exchange, and offers a poll which asks the question: “Is Lawyer Licensing Necessary?” (Perhaps unsurprisingly for a poll in which a large proportion of voters are most likely lawyers, 60% are in favor of licensing.)

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Case Studies & Empirical Scholarship

TOTM I am heading to Harvard tomorrow for a conference, hosted by the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, on the value of case studies and the role . . .

I am heading to Harvard tomorrow for a conference, hosted by the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, on the value of case studies and the role of lawyers in deal making. Vic at the Glom has blogged about the conference here. The conference is organized around Vic Fleischer’s case study on the MasterCard IPO, and David Millstone & Guhan Subramanian’s study of the Oracle/Peoplesoft takeover bid

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Manne & Williamson get results from the FTC and DOJ!

TOTM My co-author, Marc Williamson, just alterted me to this section in the recently-published FTC/DOJ Merger Guidelines Commentary (.pdf)… Read the full piece here.

My co-author, Marc Williamson, just alterted me to this section in the recently-published FTC/DOJ Merger Guidelines Commentary (.pdf)…

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Antitrust & Consumer Protection