Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Citigroup and federal fiduciary law
The SEC has reached another peculiar settlement, this time $75 million from Citigroup, plus fines against executives. As with the Goldman settlement, Citigroup didn’t admit fraud, or even, as in that case, a mistake. Citigroup was accused of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime. The bank knew it was exposed to the housing market, ... Citigroup and federal fiduciary law
RIP, Earl Thompson
UCLA economist Earl Thompson passed away Thursday. Earl was a beloved figure in the economics department. I came to UCLA a bit late in the game to experience the years when his presence was largest, though I had the pleasure of speaking with him on a number of occasions and he attended a recent talk ... RIP, Earl Thompson
Intel Settlement Watch Part II
While Intel Corporation nears its settlement deadline with the Federal Trade Commission, it received good news from a federal district court in Delaware evaluating the evidence of alleged consumer harm from the discounts Intel offers to buyers. It is also very important to note that this pass from a US court applying standards of consumer ... Intel Settlement Watch Part II
Capitalism as a solution for poverty
SKS Microfinance, India’s largest microfinance lender, did a $354 million IPO Wednesday. This may encourage others to do likewise. The result would be much more money for very small loans. Sounds good, but it’s meeting objections: A publicly traded company’s traditional obligation is to make money for its shareholders, while the mission of microfinance — ... Capitalism as a solution for poverty
The shareholder maximization canard
Al Franken buys the old idea that corporate managers have a duty to maximize shareholder value. Todd Henderson appropriately sets Franken (and others ignorant of corporate law) straight. Todd reminds them that the business judgment rule gives managers the flexibility to do pretty much what they want, including help society, as long as they don’t ... The shareholder maximization canard
The government reward for doing a bad job
In the world of competitive markets, if one does a bad job, the typical result is less resources, less power, and more oversight by interested parties. If a firm makes a bad product, there will be fewer profits, lost market share, and additional attention from Consumer Reports, plaintiffs’ lawyers, and regulators. In the world of ... The government reward for doing a bad job
The shareholder wealth maximization myth
In a recent speech at the Netroots Nation, Senator Al Franken tried to frighten the crowd by trotting out the corporate bogeyman that greedily makes decisions without regard to anything other than profit. Franken told them: “it is literally malfeasance for a corporation not to do everything it legally can to maximize its profits.” Individuals ... The shareholder wealth maximization myth
Obama, Antitrust, and the Great Recession
On the campaign trail, Barack Obama made an issue of the ostensibly lax state of antitrust enforcement during the Bush administration. Christine Varney’s first public act as head of the Antitrust Division was to withdraw the Bush Antitrust Division’s unilateral monopolization report and announce that trustbusting against dominant firms was back on the agenda. Expectations ... Obama, Antitrust, and the Great Recession
More on Elizabeth Warren on Theory and Interpreting Data
With all the talk about the CFPB, Elizabeth Warren has been in the news lately. The blogs too. Most of the discussion has been about whether or not Timothy Geithner is a friend or foe to the Democrats’ preferred option of getting Warren nominated as the first chief of the CFPB. Today, Megan McArdle started ... More on Elizabeth Warren on Theory and Interpreting Data
Elizabeth Warren on fact, law and theory
Since Professor Warren is much in the news lately, I thought it was time to reprise my post on her from almost four years ago. Also read the comments. Enjoy.
Copyright Trolls
A new business model for newspapers? From Wired (HT: Kevin Ohlhausen): Steve Gibson has a plan to save the media world’s financial crisis — and it’s not the iPad. Borrowing a page from patent trolls, the CEO of fledgling Las Vegas-based Righthaven has begun buying out the copyrights to newspaper content for the sole purpose ... Copyright Trolls
Bad and good news for law students
Most of what we hear about the lawyer market tracks current employment figures at law firms. Everybody knows they’re down. Today’s WSJ discusses laid-off lawyers who have found it so bad they’re leaving law altogether and going into things like comedy. But then it’s bad all over, so this may be about the economy. Well, ... Bad and good news for law students
