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TOTM Leading antitrust critic and abolitionist, Dominick Armentano, has a letter to the editor in the WSJ. The point of the letter to the editor is . . .
Leading antitrust critic and abolitionist, Dominick Armentano, has a letter to the editor in the WSJ. The point of the letter to the editor is rather specific: that FTC’s attack on Intel is no outlier in the historical context of antitrust enforcement, contrary to the WSJ’s description. To the contrary, Armentano argues that Intel is just another in a long line of misguided enforcement actions.
Read the full piece here.
TOTM Judge Saris’s district court opinion denying the motion to exclude one of the plaintiff’s economic experts in Natchitoches Parish Hospital v. Tyco International recently came . . .
Judge Saris’s district court opinion denying the motion to exclude one of the plaintiff’s economic experts in Natchitoches Parish Hospital v. Tyco International recently came across my desk. It is an interesting case involving allegations that Covidien, a leading supplier of “sharps containers” used for the disposal of various needle-involving medical products (syringes, IVs, etc.) violated the antitrust laws with various market share discounting arrangements with buyers and exclusive dealing contracts with GPOs. I’ve not been following this litigation very closely, which has now apparently survived summary judgment. What caught my eye was a passage from the Daubert opinion to exclude Professor Einer Elhauge’s expert economic testimony on behalf of the plaintiff. As an interesting side note, we’ve had occasion to opine ourselves on some of Professor Elhauge’s views on the related topic of loyalty discounts here. If you’d like to get caught fully up to speed, read the briefs. I’ll start you off with the motion to exclude , the opposition, and a declaration submitted by John Bates Clark Medal / Nobel Prize winner Daniel McFadden in support of the motion to exclude.
TOTM The Nanny Brigade has once again descended on the Windy City. It previously sought to protect us from unhealthy trans fats, smoking in private establishments . . .
The Nanny Brigade has once again descended on the Windy City. It previously sought to protect us from unhealthy trans fats, smoking in private establishments that we voluntarily patronize, and those oh-so-offensive theatrical depictions of smoking. The Nannies are now working to protect Chicago’s well-heeled from risks associated with the locally produced, artisanal sausages sold in some of the city’s finest restaurants. Whatever would we do without these folks (other than enjoy our lives more)?
TOTM Occasionally I read Mr. Krugman’s column for entertainment purposes — sort of like watching Project Runway or Animals Gone Wild. This morning was one of . . .
Occasionally I read Mr. Krugman’s column for entertainment purposes — sort of like watching Project Runway or Animals Gone Wild. This morning was one of those occasions. The man is a partisan hack of the worst sort. Why does anyone take his political observations seriously?
TOTM When I first met my father in law, he spent hours trying to convince me of the cultural superiority of his tastes. Some of these . . .
When I first met my father in law, he spent hours trying to convince me of the cultural superiority of his tastes. Some of these were indeed triumphs. I’m thinking here of “Dr. Strangelove,” “The 400 Blows,” and the music of Richard Wagner. (Others were not. I’m thinking here of “Children of Paradise,” a movie about mimes.) His love of Wagner is curious; he was born in Israel and almost his entire family was murdered in the Warsaw ghetto. This is not a trivial issue. Hitler loved Wagner too, and used his music for political ends. Wagner was himself a hater of Jews. Accordingly, Israel banned public performance of Wagner’s music nearly six decades ago, and the taboo was not broken until 1995 when “The Flying Dutchman” was played on Israeli radio. Six years later Daniel Barenboim (a Jew) led the Berlin Staatskapelle in a performance of an overture from “Tristan und Isolde” at an Israel Festival, which only reignited the controversy.
TOTM The lesson from Jones, see my post below, is that law untamed can be very costly, and with little benefit. This is, of course, not . . .
The lesson from Jones, see my post below, is that law untamed can be very costly, and with little benefit. This is, of course, not a new idea. In a critical essay of “Southey’s Colloquies on Society,” Lord Thomas Macaulay wrote eloquently about the cost of law and government…
TOTM What is the proper role for judges in deciding how much investment advisers to mutual funds should be compensated? This is the question the Supreme . . .
What is the proper role for judges in deciding how much investment advisers to mutual funds should be compensated? This is the question the Supreme Court will answer in Jones v. Harris Associates, argued last month. At first, the question seems silly: courts don’t get a say in how much I get paid or how much (beyond the minimum wage) I pay our nanny, so why would they have any say here.
TOTM There will be much to say about the Federal Trade Commission’s Intel complaint in the coming months. And we’ve said quite a bit already. But . . .
There will be much to say about the Federal Trade Commission’s Intel complaint in the coming months. And we’ve said quite a bit already. But having just read the complaint and the statements from Chairman Leibowitz and Commissioner Rosch discussing the various rationales for making Section 5 the primary hook for this case, I wanted to share two thoughts about defenses for the move that appear in those statements.
TOTM Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Senators Cantwell and McCain are preparing legislation to reinstate Glass-Steagall-type restrictions to create a “firewall” between commercial and investment . . .
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Senators Cantwell and McCain are preparing legislation to reinstate Glass-Steagall-type restrictions to create a “firewall” between commercial and investment banks. Apparently Rep. Hinchey is preparing a similar assault in the House.
