Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Nobel Watch
We’re now very close to the Nobel announcement which is expected Monday morning. Tyler Cowen favors Williamson and Tirole because they might want “to bring it down to earth and also they might wish to choose a Frenchman.” Peter Klein favors a prize for organizational economics and, I have a hunch, favors Williamson. French and ... Nobel Watch
Citigroup, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo: Round Three
For those who have missed it, Citigroup announced almost two weeks ago an agreement in principle with Wachovia to acquire for $2.1 billion Wachovia’s retail banking operations. Four days later, Wells Fargo jumped the deal, announcing a merger agreement signed by both boards for Wells Fargo to acquire all of Wachovia. This violated an Exclusivity ... Citigroup, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo: Round Three
Posner’s Definition of a "Private Sector" Response
Many observers have been shocked by the level of government involvement in the U.S. economy in recent days. Among other things, the government has (1) bailed out an insurance company that got “too big to fail,” (2) decided to spend up to $700 billion buying the distressed assets of financial firms (and apparently directly investing ... Posner’s Definition of a "Private Sector" Response
May Treasury Buy Newly Issued Securities of Ailing Financial Firms?
Last week I posted about Lucian Bebchuk’s thoughtful bailout plan, which would have expanded Treasury’s powers to include the ability to make direct investments in ailing financial firms (as opposed to just buying their distressed assets). I was under the impression the bailout legislation didn’t provide Treasury with such authority. An article in today’s WSJ, ... May Treasury Buy Newly Issued Securities of Ailing Financial Firms?
Everything you wanted to know about the Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo Debacle
Coverage of the Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo situation has revealed many fundamental misunderstandings of various aspects of the debacle, such that I wanted to offer my thoughts on a few points that have been curiously misstated: 1. A discussion of “fiduciary outs” is a bit of a non sequitur here. Across the ‘net, legal experts have been ... Everything you wanted to know about the Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo Debacle
Exclusivity Agreements, the Bailout Act, and Section 126(c)
The Wachovia-Citigroup-Wells Fargo dance continues. Now, however, it seems to involve confusion about Section 126(c) of the newly adopted Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (“EESA”). Allow me to take a stab at clarifying. To bring everyone up to speed, last weekend, after Lehman was allowed to go belly-up and Washington Mutual was seized by the FDIC, ... Exclusivity Agreements, the Bailout Act, and Section 126(c)
Easterbrook (Gregg, not Frank) Up a Creek
Here’s another reason—as if you needed it—as to why getting a reasonable bailout of the mortgage-backed securities market through Congress was so difficult. Below I reproduce an analysis from Gregg Easterbrook of the Brookings Institute: Supposing we assume the bailout is required, here is what bothers me about the plan so far: Taxpayers don’t get ... Easterbrook (Gregg, not Frank) Up a Creek
Citigroup, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, the Exclusivity Agreement, and Specific Performance… and the Huntsman Opinion
On Monday, Citigroup announced that it had reached an agreement in principle to acquire some of Wachovia’s assets. Today, Wachovia announced it was being wholly acquired by Wells Fargo in a stock deal. Citigroup responded with outrage, announcing that Wachovia was in breach of its Exclusivity Agreement with Citigroup. If you read the Exclusivity Agreement, ... Citigroup, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, the Exclusivity Agreement, and Specific Performance… and the Huntsman Opinion
Hexion v. Huntsman: Vice Chancellor Lamb’s Must-Read Opinion For Deal Lawyers
On Monday night, Delaware Vice Chancellor Lamb issued an opinion in the epic Hexion v. Huntsman battle, ordering Hexion to perform its obligations under its 2007 agreement to acquire Huntsman. The opinion is well worth reading for deal lawyers – it offers a good tutorial on how private equity deals can fall apart, how merger ... Hexion v. Huntsman: Vice Chancellor Lamb’s Must-Read Opinion For Deal Lawyers
Coate on Unilateral Effects at the FTC
FTC economist Malcolm Coate has posted Unilateral Effects Under the Guidelines: Models, Merits and Merger Policy to SSRN. Here’s the abstract: This paper models FTC unilateral effects merger policy using a broad sample of 153 investigations undertaken between 1993 and 2005. Standard unilateral effects analysis proposes a range of models for competitive effects. A review ... Coate on Unilateral Effects at the FTC
Antitrust and Health Care
Barak Richman (Duke) and James Blumstein (Vanderbilt) have an interesting exchange at PENNumbra, University of Pennsylvania School of Law’s online forum for debate surrounding scholarship in the U. Penn. L. Rev. Here’s the abstract from Professor Richman’s article: Courts reviewing proposed mergers of nonprofit hospitals have too often abandoned the bedrock principles of antitrust law, ... Antitrust and Health Care
The Price of Gas in Antlers, OK
From the DOJ: A federal grand jury in Oklahoma returned a one-count indictment today charging Kwik-Chek Food Stores Inc., a Texas-based convenience store company, and one of its agents, Jarrod “Judd” Thomas, with conspiring to fix the price of retail gasoline and diesel fuel sold in Antlers, Okla. The indictment, filed today in the U.S. ... The Price of Gas in Antlers, OK
