Showing archive for: “EU”
Surcharging and Honor-All-Cards
Generally, merchants charge the same price regardless of the type of payment instrument used to make purchases. In many jurisdictions, merchants are not allowed to add a surcharge for payment card transactions because of legal (some states in the U.S. do not allow surcharges) or contractual (card networks generally do not allow surcharges) restrictions. But, ... Surcharging and Honor-All-Cards
Seven Truths About Regulating Interchange
Interchange fees on payment cards are obviously a hot topic in the United States, but also in Europe and in many other countries around the world. The report on interchange fees released last month by the US Government Accounting Office (GAO) notes that more than 30 countries have intervened or are considering intervening in the ... Seven Truths About Regulating Interchange
Article 81 is dead! Long live Article 101!
The European Union has re-numbered its governing Articles following the entering into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. So the former “Treaty Establishing the European Community” is now the “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Community.” And the chapter on competition, former Articles 81 through 89, is now the new (and unchanged) Articles 101 ... Article 81 is dead! Long live Article 101!
New EU Antitrust Chief: Joaquin Almunia
Joaquin Almunia, described by the WSJ story as a Spanish socialist. Almunia’s current charge has been to help craft the EU’s response to the financial crisis: In his current job, Mr. Almunia, 61 years old, has been in the thick of the EU’s response to the financial crisis, though the economic-affairs post has little regulatory ... New EU Antitrust Chief: Joaquin Almunia
Oracle is nonplussed; the DOJ is . . . plussed?
The European Commission has issued a Statement of Objections in response to Oracle’s proposed acquisition of Sun. The deal had already cleared the DOJ’s review. Oracle is none too happy about the development, issuing a strongly-worded statement. Here’s a taste: The database market is intensely competitive with at least eight strong players, including IBM, Microsoft, ... Oracle is nonplussed; the DOJ is . . . plussed?
As New York goes, so goes the FTC?
The New York Times is reporting that New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, has filed an antitrust suit against Intel. According to the report, The New York move increases the chances that the F.T.C. will take action against Intel, according to a person who was familiar with the state’s investigation but was not authorized to ... As New York goes, so goes the FTC?
EU Intel Fines Attract Rebuke
I’ve criticized the European Commission’s antitrust attack against Intel here and the resulting $1.44 billion fine. Now the EU is drawing fire for allegedly burying testimony, or at least failing to record it in a satisfactory manner, from Dell that it chose Intel’s chips not because of the coercive force of any of Intel’s rebates ... EU Intel Fines Attract Rebuke
The EU’s Bass Ackward Approach to Evaluating Mergers
As American antitrust regulators hurtle headlong toward a Europeanized (i.e., competitor-focused) antitrust, I do hope they will at least avoid the tack the EU has taken in evaluating Lufthansa’s proposed takeover of Austrian Airlines. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that EU Antitrust Chief Neelie Kroes has directed her subordinates to draft a “conditional clearance” ... The EU’s Bass Ackward Approach to Evaluating Mergers
EU Likely to Require A Browser Ballot Screen for Windows 7 in Europe
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE BEFORE PROCEEDING: TOTM readers are encouraged at this point to pick among the following antitrust blogs for content before reading this post: Antitrust Review Antitrust & Competition Policy Antitrust Hotch Potch Global Competition Policy OK. I thought that woud be funnier than it was. Moving on. It looks like the old/new ... EU Likely to Require A Browser Ballot Screen for Windows 7 in Europe
Some Antitrust Links
Fred Jenny and David Evans just published a new edited volume called Trustbusters which contains chapters from the heads or senior officials of many of the leading competition authorities around the world. You can download the introductory chapter here and you can order the book from Competition Policy International or from Amazon. Sports Law Blog’s ... Some Antitrust Links
Let's Have New Section 2 Hearings!
Commissioner Rosch has offered a defense of the withdraw of the Section 2 Report. This is an important step and the Commissioner, who readers know I’ve criticized from time to time here, should be credited for laying out his specific objections to the Report. The objections are, in short, that the Report: Was “too ambitious” ... Let's Have New Section 2 Hearings!
Will Section 2 Thwart the DOJ's New Antitrust Agenda?
George Priest has an excellent op-ed in the WSJ correctly calling out the Justice Department’s new Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney for attributing the financial crisis to a lack of antitrust enforcement: Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney claims that the Justice Department can aid economic recovery by prosecuting businesses that have been successful ... Will Section 2 Thwart the DOJ's New Antitrust Agenda?
