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Showing results for:  “price gouging”

The Case Against the Section 5 Case Against Intel (Cross-Posted)

Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog is hosting a symposium on The Role of FTC Act Section 5 in Light of Intel.  Today’s contributions include Dan Crane (Michigan), Keith Hylton (BU), Bob Lande (Baltimore) and me.   Up tomorrow will be TOTM’s Geoff Manne, Sean Heather (US Chamber), and Herbert Hovenkamp (Iowa).  My contribution is available here, ... The Case Against the Section 5 Case Against Intel (Cross-Posted)

Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings

A couple weeks ago, Geoff wrote concerning the DOJ’s misguided antitrust interest in Monsanto. With that in mind, I was very interested to see today’s announcement that Monsanto’s earnings and gross margins are significantly off for its fiscal first quarter.  According to the Wall Street Journal report, Monsanto posted a loss for the quarter due ... Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings

Zywicki on Interchange Fee Legislation

My colleague (and TOTM Credit Card Symposium participant — posts here and here) Todd Zywicki has an excellent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today on Congressional legislation aimed at regulating interchange fees.  Here’s an excerpt detailing the predictable economic consequences of the legislation: What would happen if the Merchants Payments Coalition gets its way ... Zywicki on Interchange Fee Legislation

My Top Ten Antitrust Publications of the Year

Danny Sokol posted his blog’s list of top antitrust publications for the year.  The big winners were Einer Elhauge, Bundled Discounts, and the Death of the Single Monopoly Profit Theory, 123 Harvard Law Review 397 (2009), and Nathan Miller, Strategic Leniency and Cartel Enforcement, American Economic Review.  In the holiday rush,  I forget to send ... My Top Ten Antitrust Publications of the Year

The Collected Works of Henry G. Manne

I’m delighted to report that the Liberty Fund has produced a three-volume collection of my dad’s oeuvre.  Fred McChesney edits, Jon Macey writes a new biography and Henry Butler, Steve Bainbridge and Jon Macey write introductions.  The collection can be ordered here. Here’s the description: As the founder of the Center for Law and Economics ... The Collected Works of Henry G. Manne

Armentano in the WSJ, Abolition and Antitrust Fairy Tales …

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 ... Armentano in the WSJ, Abolition and Antitrust Fairy Tales …

Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste, Vietnam Edition

In light of economic worries in Vietnam, the WSJ reports that the country is soon likely to impose a widespread set of price controls and restrictions on political activity after an encouraging move toward freer markets: Carlyle Thayer, a veteran Vietnam watcher and professor at the Australian Defense Academy in Canberra, says conservative factions in ... Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste, Vietnam Edition

Daubert and Antitrust Economics, Or When Should An Antitrust Economist Have Training in Economics?

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.) ... Daubert and Antitrust Economics, Or When Should An Antitrust Economist Have Training in Economics?

"Diminishing the price of law"

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: “Our rulers will best promote the ... "Diminishing the price of law"

Features v. Bugs: Intel and the Relationship Between Sections 2 and 5

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 ... Features v. Bugs: Intel and the Relationship Between Sections 2 and 5

The seeds of an antitrust disaster

If you live outside the farm belt (or you’re not an antitrust junkie) you might have missed what is shaping up to be one of the biggest antitrust stories of the coming year:  The set of antitrust accusations and actions against Monsanto for its alleged anticompetitive conduct in the biotech seed market. The AP reports: ... The seeds of an antitrust disaster

Climate Change and the Non-Sensical Precautionary Principle

In his New York Times column, Thomas Friedman advocates “doing the Cheney-thing on climate — preparing for 1%.” He’s referring to Vice-President Cheney’s reported remark: “If there’s a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping Al Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our ... Climate Change and the Non-Sensical Precautionary Principle