Showing archive for: “UK”
Singapore, hedge funds and jurisdictional competition
While the US, via Dodd-Frank, has increased its regulation of hedge funds by requiring registration and disclosure, one important jurisdiction is pulling back and poised to reap the benefits. Per Bloomberg, Singapore declined in April to require licensing of hedge funds and attracted several new hedge funds in May and June. “Singapore did not shoot ... Singapore, hedge funds and jurisdictional competition
Bad and good news for law students
Most of what we hear about the lawyer market tracks current employment figures at law firms. Everybody knows they’re down. Today’s WSJ discusses laid-off lawyers who have found it so bad they’re leaving law altogether and going into things like comedy. But then it’s bad all over, so this may be about the economy. Well, ... Bad and good news for law students
More Details on the OFT's Botched Prosecution of British Airways
Here (HT: Danny Sokol). The post by Andreas Stephan implies that the OFT’s mistakes in the BA prosecution threaten to undermine the effectiveness of cartel enforcement in the UK generally and predicts that the OFT will not bring more criminal prosecutions in the near future. Stephan also provides some more detail on what apparently went ... More Details on the OFT's Botched Prosecution of British Airways
Some Links
Facebook hires recent Kirkpatrick Award winner Tim Muris to manage their antitrust and consumer protection business at the Federal Trade Commission (or did they?) My colleague Neomi Rao in the WSJ on the Kagan nomination The UK British Airways price-fixing trial implodes after the OFT didn’t turn over evidence (Businessweek) The FTC has, to its ... Some Links
Maybe We’ll Get Us a Calorie Czar!
Yesterday, Todd predicted that Obamacare will result in greater government involvement in heretofore private decisions that impact health. Since the government is now going to pay (via insurance subsidies) for many more Americans’ health care, it has a much stronger interest in how they live. So do we taxpayers who must pay for the government’s ... Maybe We’ll Get Us a Calorie Czar!
The dark side of altruism
Have you ever been tempted to buy a beggar a cup of coffee or a sandwich instead of giving money? If so, you have, like a young Anakin Skywalker, taken your first step to the dark side of altruism. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there too. The reason I offered food instead of (money ... The dark side of altruism
Why Citizens United was right
Let me say at the outset, some of my prior beliefs. First, I believe in the marketplace of ideas and think that more speech is generally better than less speech. I believe the Founders shared this belief and enshrined it in the “no law” component of the First Amendment. I believe this is especially true ... Why Citizens United was right
Some thoughts on the Olympics
I just love the Olympics. Exhibit A for me was the face of American skier Lindsey Vonn in the starting gate last night before her gold-medal-winning race. Vonn was the overwhelming favorite, having proved herself the greatest skier in the world for the past few years. She was, however, plagued by a nasty shin injury ... Some thoughts on the Olympics
The problem with paper payments
Jim Van Dyke (who contributed to our interchange symposium) has an interesting post up today recounting a brief glimpse of life without payment cards: What would a day without payment cards be like? I had a glimpse into that just this morning, when my usual Bay Area morning routine of using my prepaid card to ... The problem with paper payments
Informational Cascades, Reputational Cascades, Group Polarization, and the Climate Emails
It’s been interesting to observe the responses to the hacked emails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The emails seem to show leading global warming scientists massaging data to generate the result they prefer (i.e., “I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series ... Informational Cascades, Reputational Cascades, Group Polarization, and the Climate Emails
Searle Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy Conference
If you’re in Chicago next week, and even if you’re not, go check out the Second Annual Searle Center Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy conference at Northwestern University School of Law. The conference will take place September 25th and 26th and has a great lineup including a pretty good mix of theory and empirics. My ... Searle Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy Conference
Questioning the UK Competition Commission Ombudsman Plan
In April 2008, the UK Competition Commission issued its Final Report culminating from its grocery sector inquiry. Along with supermarket concentration, the concern that emerges out of that Report is that supermarkets will use their power to negotiate sharp deals with suppliers. For example: In emails from store buyers seized during its investigation, the Commission ... Questioning the UK Competition Commission Ombudsman Plan
