Showing results for: “digital markets act”
When markets let corporations be good
In my article, Accountability and Responsibility in Corporate Governance, I explored the complex relationship between social responsibility and markets. I noted among other things that social responsibility is a way to sell products, so it’s hard to untangle whether success let’s firms be “good,” or whether “goodness” causes firms to be successful. A new article ... When markets let corporations be good
IPOs going elswhere
A couple of months ago I asked “what happened to IPOs.” I noted then that the decline in US IPOs had something to do with US regulation, including SOX and Dodd-Frank. A new paper by Doidge, Karolyi & Stulz, The U.S. Left Behind: The Rise of IPO Activity Around the World suggests it has something ... IPOs going elswhere
Sokol’s trades
Per the WSJ, Buffett associate David Sokol bought shares of a potential Berkshire target, Lubrizol, the day after expressed interest in the company on behalf of Berkshire. He sold those shares a week later, but soon bought more around the time the Lubrizol board met to discuss Berkshire’s interest. Sokol told Buffett about the deal ... Sokol’s trades
Antitrust in Tech Industries
Two stories about Google indicate the dangers of antitrust in fast moving tech industries. Microsoft is urging the EU antitrust authorities to sue Google. (Microsoft was itself the victim of a massive antitrust action. I guess it is true that abusers are likely to have been themselves abused.) At the same time Google is ... Antitrust in Tech Industries
Posner on corporate fiduciary duties
Francis Pileggi brings news of an interesting Posner opinion in CDX Liquidating Trust v. Venrock Associates, (7th Cir. March 29, 2011), a case decided under Delaware law. As Mr. Pileggi notes, the case held, among other things, that disclosure of a conflict of a director’s interest may “insulate the agreement from attack, but does not, per ... Posner on corporate fiduciary duties
The death of campaign finance regulation
In Arizona Free Enterprise Club, et al., v. Bennett, et al. and McComish, et al., v. Bennett, et al. the Court is deciding what seems to be a couple of relatively narrow issues: (1) Whether the First Amendment forbids states from providing additional government subsidies to publicly financed candidates that are triggered by independent expenditure ... The death of campaign finance regulation
The Industrial Organization of Food Carts
As Harold Demsetz notes, “the problem of defining ownership is precisely that of creating properly scaled legal barriers to entry.” Taxi medallions, meet food cart permits. From the WSJ: The city’s competitive street food culture has created a thriving black market for mobile food vending permits issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. ... The Industrial Organization of Food Carts
Bonuses for prosecutors
Walter Olson has been posting on a Colorado plan to give bonuses to prosecutors based on conviction rates. His latest post on why this is a bad idea says “[v]ery similar logic helps explain the historically prevailing ban on contingency fees for lawyers in most Western legal systems.” Actually, this is worse. First, there’s a ... Bonuses for prosecutors
New York Malpractice Reform
The state of New York is considering a cap on noneconomic damages (“pain and suffering”) for malpractice in order to save money. The New York Times story asks “… who benefits from caps — doctors or insurers — and whether the measures inflict unintended negative consequences upon victims of medical errors, including plaintiffs’ inability to ... New York Malpractice Reform
The Antitrust (and Business) Risk of a Concerted Response to the U.S. News Rankings
I’ve been in a blue funk since last Tuesday, when my home institution, the University of Missouri Law School, fell into the third tier in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of law schools. Since the rankings began, Missouri has pretty consistently ranked in the 50s and 60s. Last year, we fell to ... The Antitrust (and Business) Risk of a Concerted Response to the U.S. News Rankings
Markets are incremental; Obamacare is not
Watching Obamacare dissolve in a morass of legal challenges and waivers points out another benefit of markets. Markets proceed incrementally. The Internet has made a huge difference in all of our lives. But the process was gradual. It began with just a few academic users and then expanded as entrepreneurs figured out next steps. In 1990 no one ... Markets are incremental; Obamacare is not
Search Bias and Antitrust
There is an antitrust debate brewing concerning Google and “search bias,” a term used to describe search engine results that preference the content of the search provider. For example, Google might list Google Maps prominently if one searches “maps” or Microsoft’s Bing might prominently place Microsoft affiliated content or products. Apparently both antitrust investigations and ... Search Bias and Antitrust
