Showing Latest Publications

More on the SEC’s Antiquated Disclosure Rules for Oil Reserves

TOTM Back in February, I criticized the SEC’s rules regarding how energy companies must disclose their oil reserves in securities filings. My main point was that . . .

Back in February, I criticized the SEC’s rules regarding how energy companies must disclose their oil reserves in securities filings. My main point was that the conservative way the SEC measures reserves is quite different from the measurement approach the oil companies themselves take when deciding how to invest billions of their own dollars.

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading
Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance

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

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading
Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Dirty Coal’s Rent-Seeking Pays Off

TOTM Today’s Heard on the Street column in the W$J reports that utilities are moving away from low-sulfur coal in favor of the dirtier, high-sulfur variety. . . .

Today’s Heard on the Street column in the W$J reports that utilities are moving away from low-sulfur coal in favor of the dirtier, high-sulfur variety. This might seem odd, given that the Clean Air Act operates on sort of a “ratchet” principle — i.e., when air quality improves, degradation is generally forbidden. One might expect that, absent some change in relative prices, the trend would always be toward cleaner-burning fuels.

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading
Innovation & the New Economy

Bernstein on the Law Deans, Tenure, and the ABA

TOTM My colleague David Bernstein at VC points out this article in Inside Higher Ed by Doug Lederman discussing the American Law Deans Association’s criticisms of . . .

My colleague David Bernstein at VC points out this article in Inside Higher Ed by Doug Lederman discussing the American Law Deans Association’s criticisms of the ABA’s imposition of requirements that go well beyond “assuring the quality of legal education.”

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading

The FCC Payola Probe Continues

TOTM The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it is stepping up efforts in its investigation of payola practices at four radio conglomerates: Clear Channel, CBS . . .

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it is stepping up efforts in its investigation of payola practices at four radio conglomerates: Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom, and Citadel, and has issued former letters of inquiry. Bill pointed me to an article in the LA Times which reports that settlement talks with the four radio firms broke down recently…

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading
Telecommunications & Regulated Utilities

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)…

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading
Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Do Slotting Contracts Harm Consumers?

TOTM Warning: shameless plug of my own research to follow! Slotting allowances, or payments for shelf space, have been a central part of my research agenda . . .

Warning: shameless plug of my own research to follow!

Slotting allowances, or payments for shelf space, have been a central part of my research agenda for the last several years. My work with Ben Klein, The Economics of Slotting Contracts, presents a procompetitive theoretical explanation (and some aggregate data in support of our theory) for slotting contracts which I have blogged about from time to time. One of the reasons that I enjoy this topic is because payments for distribution are pervasive.

Read the full piece here.

Continue reading
Antitrust & Consumer Protection

Ford on Lott v. Levitt and “Replication”

TOTM The Lott v. Levitt lawsuit has become a pretty popular topic for bloggers of late (see, e.g., here, here or here). My previous post with . . .

The Lott v. Levitt lawsuit has become a pretty popular topic for bloggers of late (see, e.g., here, here or here). My previous post with links to some earlier blog discussions is here. As many have noted, Lott’s defamation claim comes down to the meaning of the term “replicate.”

Read the full piece here

Continue reading

In Defense of Short-Selling

TOTM In today’s W$J, Holman Jenkins stands up for short-sellers, and rightly so. Those folks have taken a bit of a beating lately. They’ve been sued . . .

In today’s W$J, Holman Jenkins stands up for short-sellers, and rightly so. Those folks have taken a bit of a beating lately. They’ve been sued by companies like Biovail and Overstock.com and trashed on talk shows like CBS’s 60 Minutes.

Read the full piece here

Continue reading
Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance