Showing results for: “price gouging”
What I Did on My Blog Vacation
So I’ve been a little absent from the blog lately. Sorry about that. I have a decent excuse. As our law prof readers know, but others might not, this is prime article submission season. The conventional wisdom is that it’s best your get your article into the hands of newly minted law review editors right ... What I Did on My Blog Vacation
Trust the Customer!
Nobel Laureate (and GMU Prof) Vernon Smith has a must read column in the WSJ on the growing costs of health care and education. The problem? “[I]f third-party deep pockets pay whatever is the price B charges A this year, the effect is to reinforce the incentive to raise the price next year. Spending escalates, ... Trust the Customer!
A Reply to McCann on the Globetrotters
Professor McCann responds to my earlier post about the Globetrotters use of exclusive contracts, and more generally, erroneously inferring monopoly power from the observation of a single firm winning the competition for exclusives: While I understand Wright’s theoretical point, I find it hard to imagine how there can be actual competition for the exclusivity contracts ... A Reply to McCann on the Globetrotters
The Globetrotters and Competition for Contract
Microsoft, AT&T, Standard Oil, and …. the Globetrotters? The Globetrotters just might join this list of well known antitrust defendants. The Harlem Ambassadors, a rival exhibition basketball squad, have filed a complaint with the FTC concerning the Globetrotters’ use of “exclusivity windows” in leases with local arenas, which effectively prevent competitors from playing in the ... The Globetrotters and Competition for Contract
SCOTUS (Almost) Nails Another One …
Another 8-0 antitrust decision from SCOTUS. Very interesting. For those of you who have not been following, the Court rejected the longstanding, but almost uniformly criticized, presumption that patents confer market power for the purpose of antitrust analysis. WSJ Law Blog sums up the facts here, concluding with a quote from Steve Sunshine that the ... SCOTUS (Almost) Nails Another One …
The NYT Gets It Right on Outsourcing
On several occasions, I have posted entries criticizing editorials from the New York Times. To be fair, I suppose I should praise the Times when it gets things right — as it does with today’s editorial on the outsourcing of computing work. My only quibble is that the editorial fails to mention the fact that ... The NYT Gets It Right on Outsourcing
SCOTUS Slays the "Exotic Beast"
SCOTUS’ Dagher opinion is indeed good news. For those unfamiliar with the case, the Ninth Circuit held that the pricing policy of two joint ventures between Shell and Texaco were per se illegal under the Sherman Act. As it stood, the Ninth Circuit’s analysis threatened per se antitrust liability for joint ventures engaging in the ... SCOTUS Slays the "Exotic Beast"
Good antitrust news from the Court
To almost no one’s surprise, the Court ruled today (unanimously) in Texaco v Dagher that a pricing agreement between Shell and Texaco which was part of a lawful joint venure is not per se illegal under the Sherman Act. See this Reuter’s story here (HT: Bill). The key grafs: Justice Clarence Thomas concluded in the ... Good antitrust news from the Court
Whisper Numbers
A “whisper number� once meant the consensus Wall Street unofficial and unpublished earnings-per-share forecast for a public company. Wall Street analysts historically derived a whisper number by ferreting out non-public information from company personnel. The number was then shared with top clients. Studies indicated that trading on whisper numbers could result in abnormal returns (see ... Whisper Numbers
Buy-Out Prices in Nose Bleed Territory
According to this FT article, Stephen Schwarzman, the head of the buy-out firm Blackstone (a firm that will soon close on a record $13.5 billion buy-out fund), warned that prices being paid in buy-outs are in “nose bleed territory� and that “seeds of excess� are being sown. As Schwarzman put it: “[W]hen it ends, it ... Buy-Out Prices in Nose Bleed Territory
Burger King Files for IPO
Burger King Holdings, Inc. filed a registration statement with the SEC today for the sale of $400 million of common stock (click here). While the prospectus does not include a price range or specify how many shares will be sold by BK vs. existing shareholders, it does contain a number of tidbits, including the following: ... Burger King Files for IPO
Trouble at XM
A week ago XM inked a three-year, $55 million deal with Oprah for a new channel called “Oprah And Friends.” XM shares rose 4.75% on the day the signing was announced, closing at $25.78 (article). Today, XM announced that its net loss widened to $286.3 million in the fourth quarter from $188.2 million for the ... Trouble at XM
