Showing archive for: “Mergers & Merger Enforcement”
What’s An Internet Monopolist? A Reply to Professor Wu
We’ve been reading with interest a bit of an blog squabble between Tim Wu and Adam Thierer ( see here and here) set off by Professor Wu’s WSJ column: “In the Grip of the New Monopolists.” Wu’s column makes some remarkable claims, and, like Adam, we find it extremely troubling. Wu starts off with some ... What’s An Internet Monopolist? A Reply to Professor Wu
Carl Shapiro on BCBS and the New Merger Guidelines
?Carl Shapiro’s (DOJ) speech at the ABA Fall Forum contains (at least) two interesting tidbits worth highlighting for TOTM readers. The first is a discussion of the DOJ’s case against Blue Cross Blue Shield, which as discussed here, turns on an economic analysis of the use of most-favored nations clauses in contractual arrangements with hospitals: ... Carl Shapiro on BCBS and the New Merger Guidelines
Fair Search’s Google-ITA Video
A link to the video is available here. The video has all of the standard ingredients of a competitor complaint: (1) a slogan (“Stand with Bob”), (2) anti-corporate rhetoric (“Freedom not Google Profit!”), and (3) appeals to provocative statements from a CEO. Meanwhile, Google rivals have also turned their attention to Congress. I suppose the ... Fair Search’s Google-ITA Video
Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm
My Missouri colleague, Peter Klein, of Organizations and Markets fame (and, like Larry, a proud non-voter), has been asked to contribute a book chapter on the Austrian theory of the firm and the law. Peter, who has written extensively on the Austrian theory of the firm and maintains an online bibliography on the subject, is ... Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm
Will Federal Courts Adopt the 2010 HMGs?
Leah Brannon and co-author Kathleen Bradish, both of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, offer a skeptical view: In the half-century since du Pont, lower courts have continued to view market definition as a predicate to Section 7 claims. For example, the D.C. Circuit in FTC v. Cardinal Health, Inc. stated that “[d]efining the relevant market ... Will Federal Courts Adopt the 2010 HMGs?
More on the HMGs: Scoring Unilateral Effects with the GUPPI
Steve Salop, Serge Moresi, and John Woodbury have posted a very useful primer on the new HMGs new “value of diverted sales” approach to unilateral effects: the gross upward pricing pressure index (GUPPI). Here’s the basic idea: This concept of “value of diverted sales measured in proportion to the lost revenues attributable to the reduction ... More on the HMGs: Scoring Unilateral Effects with the GUPPI
Do the New HMGs Move From Cheap Talk to Commitment on Out-of-Market Efficiencies?
One of the primary concerns with the Proposed HMGs was that the new approach would lead to small relevant markets in order to better reflect the Agencies’ views that the traditional approach understated the importance of competition between close substitutes. I highlighted one analytical concern with this approach in a previous blog post: The real ... Do the New HMGs Move From Cheap Talk to Commitment on Out-of-Market Efficiencies?
Who Are You Calling A Price Theorist Anyway?: Commissioner Rosch Takes on the HMGs Economist “Architects”
Commissioner Rosch has offered an interesting separate statement on the new HMGs. While favoring the new guidelines generally, Commissioner Rosch offers several criticisms. I concur with a few of these criticisms, for example, Commissioner Rosch also argues for a more empirical approach to merger analysis. I agree with that general proposition despite, as we shall ... Who Are You Calling A Price Theorist Anyway?: Commissioner Rosch Takes on the HMGs Economist “Architects”
Agencies Release New Horizontal Merger Guidelines
Here. Comments to follow from myself and others. So far, they look pretty similar to the proposed Guidelines on a quick read-through, but I’m still working my way through.
Top Ten Books in Corporate Governance
(Law Review Editors take note, my recent submission mentioned in the following post, titled: “Defending Against Shareholder Proxy Access: Delaware’s Future Reviewing Company Defenses in the Era of Dodd-Frank” is still in the process of negotiating for a permanent Law Review home, although the expedite process is getting very hot.) After two years of steadily ... Top Ten Books in Corporate Governance
Why Take Antitrust? (Fall 2010 Edition)
In what has become an annual affair, around this time of the year, I like to make the case for law students to take antitrust. Each year, the post is edited and tweaked a little bit. So, without further ado, here is this year’s edition of “Why Take Antitrust?” As the start of the new ... Why Take Antitrust? (Fall 2010 Edition)
Will an m & a boom save Big Law?
John Carney thinks a recent notable move of prominent banking partners from Latham to Milbank might signal that “debt financing for takeovers is about to take off,” just as it did when the same team moved from Skadden to Latham in 2004. This would also be consistent “with corporate cash piling up to record levels.” ... Will an m & a boom save Big Law?
