Showing results for: “sirius xm merger”
Presenting Complex Economic Theories to Judges
This fascinating OECD document compiling submissions on the topic is a gold mine of observations on purported best practices for presenting economic testimony to judges and issues facing competition authorities and judges deciding complex antitrust cases on the basis of complex economic evidence. Here is one excerpt from the U.S. submission that caught my eye: ... Presenting Complex Economic Theories to Judges
Interim Final Rules Amending Parts III and IV Rules of FTC Rules of Practice Issued
The FTC announced today that it has approved a notice adopting interim final rules amending Parts III and IV of its rules of practice. As boring as that sound, this is a big deal. Here is the Federal Register notice. There are a number of changes, for instance, deadlines are imposed to expedite the pre-hearing ... Interim Final Rules Amending Parts III and IV Rules of FTC Rules of Practice Issued
DOJ Files Another Section 2 Case
Press release here. Here’s an excerpt: The complaint alleges that post-acquisition Microsemi raised prices significantly on small signal transistors certified by the Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC), a component of the DOD, at the Joint Army-Navy Technical Exchange-Visual Inspection (JANTXV) and Joint Army-Navy Space (JANS) levels of reliability on its qualified manufacturers list or QML. ... DOJ Files Another Section 2 Case
No Ovation for FTC's Latest Enforcement Theory
The Federal Trade Commission announced a puzzling complaint filed in a new consummated merger & monopolization case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Here’s the explanation of the case from the press release: The Federal Trade Commission today filed a complaint in federal district court challenging Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s January 2006 ... No Ovation for FTC's Latest Enforcement Theory
Antitrust, The Bailout, and the Coming Boom in Monopolization Enforcement
From the WSJ comes an editorial from Martin Neal Baily and Matthew Slaughter describe a forthcoming report from the Private Equity Council making the link between product market competition and productivity: A central theme of this report is the critical role that competitive product markets play in spurring productivity growth and boosting standards of living. ... Antitrust, The Bailout, and the Coming Boom in Monopolization Enforcement
Whole Foods Brings It
“Now for the evidence,” said the King. “And then the sentence.” “No!” said the Queen. “First the sentence, and then the evidence.” So goes a famous passage of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. And so begins Whole Foods’ new lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission. In the lawsuit, filed yesterday in federal court in D.C., ... Whole Foods Brings It
The D.C. Circuit Re-Disappoints in Whole Foods: An Analysis of the Amended Opinions
Being a “glass is half-full” type of guy, I figured there was no way the D.C. Circuit’s decision on Whole Foods’ petition for rehearing en banc could turn out poorly: Either the court would grant the motion and correct the panel’s mistakes, or the court would deny the motion, setting up an attractive opportunity for ... The D.C. Circuit Re-Disappoints in Whole Foods: An Analysis of the Amended Opinions
Are We Reinvigorated Yet?
Despite rumors, slogans, and “new” conventional wisdom to the contrary (See, e.g. here, here and the Obama campaign promise to “reinvigorate merger enforcement), it is apparently not the case that the current DOJ is not interested in enforcing the antitrust laws. Perhaps it never was. This interesting interview (HT: Danny Sokol) suggests that the DOJ ... Are We Reinvigorated Yet?
Antitrust under President Obama: "I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement"
Danny Sokol makes some predictions about Post-Obama antitrust, and about my disappointment in what he perceives to be the likely direction of antitrust policy in the Obama administration: 1. increased challenges of mergers and monopolization cases, especially at DOJ 2. more consumer protection work at the FTC with a push to more expansive consumer rights ... Antitrust under President Obama: "I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement"
Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
It looks like the FTC is interested in doing more than just investigating RPM (see Thom’s excellent post), as the agency just announced a series of public workshops on the question of how best to distinguish pro-competitive uses of RPM from those that raise competitive concerns. From the announcement: The FTC is requesting public comment ... Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
First Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference: November 6-7
I think conferences like this are an effective way to attract talented economists to work on interesting antitrust problems. I can envision a similar event from the Bureau of Competition or policy shops featuring academic research from law and economics scholars. Here’s the conference announcement: The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics will host a ... First Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference: November 6-7
Reverse Payments Ripe for Cert?
The Federal Circuit came down on the side of rule of reason analysis, and no liability, in a reverse payment case in Cipro (HT: Antitrust Review and Patently-O): Since there was no basis for the district court to confidently predict that the Agreements at issue here would be found to be unlawful under a rule ... Reverse Payments Ripe for Cert?
