Showing results for: “premium natural and organic”
Free Uber
From the NY Times: Uber, a company based in San Francisco, is introducing a smartphone app to New York that allows available taxi drivers and cab-seeking riders to find one another. The company said the service would begin operating on Wednesday in 105 cabs — a bit less than 1 percent of the city’s more ... Free Uber
Coase and Smoking: Who’s the Victim Here?
Today’s New York Times reports on a new cigarette bar in Chicago, where the city council has just imposed a sweeping smoking ban. (I recently criticized the ban at Ideoblog.) The proprietors of the Marshall McGearty Tobacco Lounge insist that the lounge is permitted because of a loophole allowing smoking in retail tobacco shops. Not ... Coase and Smoking: Who’s the Victim Here?
Broken Tax Promises
Remember this? How about this?: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You were against the individual mandate… PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yes. STEPHANOPOULOS: …during the campaign. Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t. How is that not a tax? OBAMA: Well, hold on a second, George. Here — here’s what’s happening. You ... Broken Tax Promises
Interest Rates and Antitrust
Today’s Israeli newspapers have an interesting story about a multibillion dollar antitrust suit that an Israeli manufacturing firm has brought against Israel’s three major banks. The complaint alleges that the banks price colluded on rates, charging identically in five distinct rate categories: a uniform prime rate always 1.5% above the central bank’s; a uniform risk ... Interest Rates and Antitrust
A preliminary assessment of the relative antitrust risk of a Comcast vs Disney purchase of 21st Century Fox assets
As has been rumored in the press for a few weeks, today Comcast announced it is considering making a renewed bid for a large chunk of Twenty-First Century Fox’s (Fox) assets. Fox is in the process of a significant reorganization, entailing primarily the sale of its international and non-television assets. Fox itself will continue, but ... A preliminary assessment of the relative antitrust risk of a Comcast vs Disney purchase of 21st Century Fox assets
Litigating Delaware governance law in an alien land
A recent Delaware case, Baker v. Impact Holding, Inc., raises several interesting questions on a topic I’ve discussed recently – where to litigate cases involving Delaware business entities. Francis Pileggi has a good summary of the case. I want to explore the case’s implications for jurisdictional competition. First some general background before getting into the ... Litigating Delaware governance law in an alien land
Securities prices and current events
When teaching efficient markets I like to have fun speculating about the limits of the theory. The third edition of my casebook (Ribstein & Letsou, Business Associations), had a New Yorker cartoon which showed executives looking out their high-rise window at attacking flying saucers and remarking: “Drat! I suppose the market has already discounted this, ... Securities prices and current events
Retirement Benefits and the Lucent/Alcatel Deal
As a merger between Lucent and Alcatel inches closer to completion, Lucent’s retirees worry about what may happen to their benefits. Billed as a “merger of equals,� concerns about Lucent’s retirement accounts have been a speed bump. While Lucent has nearly a $2.7 billion surplus in its three of its pension plans, it faces a ... Retirement Benefits and the Lucent/Alcatel Deal
Case closed: Google wins (for now)
The European Commission and its supporters were quick to claim victory following last week’s long-awaited General Court of the European Union ruling in the Google Shopping case. It’s hard to fault them. The judgment is ostensibly an unmitigated win for the Commission, with the court upholding nearly every aspect of its decision. However, the broader ... Case closed: Google wins (for now)
Bundled Discounts, Exclusive Dealing, and Liability Rules: Thoughts on Crane and Lambert on Bundled Discounts
Dan Crane and Thom (who has promised more remarks!) have now both posted their prepared remarks for the Section 2 hearings panel on bundled discounts. Both call for bright-line, administrable liability rules for all forms of unilateral exclusionary conduct, and have important things to say about designing antitrust rules for bundled discounts. Both are worth ... Bundled Discounts, Exclusive Dealing, and Liability Rules: Thoughts on Crane and Lambert on Bundled Discounts
The Commission Wins an Exclusive Dealing Case
Today, the Commission announced a consent decree with Transitions Optical in an exclusionary conduct case. Here’s the FTC description: Transitions Optical, Inc., the nation’s leading manufacturer of photochromic treatments that darken corrective lenses used in eyeglasses, has agreed to stop using allegedly anticompetitive practices to maintain its monopoly and increase prices, under a settlement with ... The Commission Wins an Exclusive Dealing Case
Investors and Regulators Can Both Fall for Platform Bubbles
In current discussions of technology markets, few words are heard more often than “platform.” Initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses use “platform” to describe a service that is bound to dominate a digital market. Antitrust regulators use “platform” to describe a service that dominates a digital market or threatens to do so. In either case, “platform” denotes power ... Investors and Regulators Can Both Fall for Platform Bubbles
