By Lee Hepner
March 26, 2026
Image: In a federal court in San Jose, Judge Casey Pitts heard arguments in a Tunney Act proceeding.
Will HPE-Juniper mark the first successful use of the Tunney Act in its half century history?
By Lee Hepner
Image: Senator Klobuchar has introduced a new bill to bolster the Tunney Act.
It is a strange and exciting thing to see any legislative effort to bolster antitrust enforcement. But Senator Klobuchar’s bill to bolster the Tunney Act is special. Congress enacted the Tunney Act in 1974 to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from resolving antitrust cases through consent decrees that inadequately protected competition or the public... Read More
By Hal Singer
March 13, 2026
Image: Seemingly unconstrained by antitrust law, Zillow now appears to be using a proxy to exclude another entrant.
Seemingly unconstrained by antitrust law, Zillow appears to be using a proxy to exclude another entrant, Homes.com, in yet another market that Zillow dominates.
By Ron Knox
March 10, 2026
Image: Live Nation's CEO Michael Rapino departs the courthouse from the antitrust trial.
Anger. That’s been the most frequent and obvious reaction to the Justice Department’s baffling and embarrassing decision this week to settle its monopoly lawsuit against Live Nation. After years of evidence that Live Nation, the largest artist manager and concert promoter in America, in coordination with its in-house event-ticketing monopoly Ticketmaster, consistently ripped off fans... Read More
Image: A weakening of competition or competition at work?
You don’t have to be an economist to recognize that we are living through an era of diminished competition. You simply must open your eyes and ears. And wallet. Whether paying for airline tickets, groceries, health insurance, concert tickets, ski passes, or video streaming services, consumers have experienced a consistent rise in prices, making things... Read More
By Sandeep Vaheesan
February 21, 2026
Image: Union-busting has enabled UPMC to maintain a significant and illegitimate competitive edge over its rival in the downstream product market.
Monopolization comes in many flavors. As we have seen over the years, firms use assorted and creative methods to acquire or maintain dominant positions. Exclusive dealing, predatory pricing, and tying are some of the competitively suspect practices familiar to antitrust lawyers and economists. But the courts have made clear the list of “anticompetitive” or unfair practices... Read More
By David Berri
February 5, 2026
Image: Utah's upset win generated favorable publicity for the university.
In December, Dennis Romboy and Art Raymond of Deseret News reported that the University of Utah’s board of trustees approved a first-of-its-kind private equity deal between the school and Otro Capital to fund athletics. The decision to partner with private equity appears to be based on a crude assessment of the contributions (revenues and expenses) that can be... Read More
Image: Much of the focus was on Google’s initial announcement. But real concern comes from its follow-up reply on social media.
This week, to much fanfare, Google introduced its new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). UCP was developed in collaboration with multiple retail partners, including Target and Walmart.. UCP involves artificial intelligence (AI) agents (i.e., programs that can perform some tasks autonomously) in the shopping process (aka, agentic commerce). Simply put, instead of searching for a specific... Read More
Image: In Mechanicsville,, investors hold 14 percent of all homes and 24 percent of homes that are not owner-occupied.
Housing prices are up, and would-be homeowners are shifting to rental units. The inventory of homes for sale is shrinking because investors are buying up properties with cash offers. Investors then rent the homes to households who cannot afford mortgages. Many feel that the American dream of homeownership is slipping away. Building more homes won’t... Read More
Image: Surveillance pricing is not primarily a technological innovation; it reflects a lack of competition.
In recent months, public attention has returned to a business practice that many consumers intuitively recognize as unfair and has provoked varying attempts to regulate: surveillance pricing. Investigations into Instacart’s grocery pricing, along with renewed scrutiny of algorithmic pricing by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), have revived concerns that firms increasingly tailor prices to individual consumers based not on cost or... Read More
By Lee Hepner
March 26, 2026
Image: In a federal court in San Jose, Judge Casey Pitts heard arguments in a Tunney Act proceeding.
Will HPE-Juniper mark the first successful use of the Tunney Act in its half century history?
It is a strange and exciting thing to see any legislative effort to bolster antitrust enforcement. But Senator Klobuchar’s bill to bolster the Tunney Act is special. Congress enacted the Tunney Act in 1974 to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from resolving antitrust cases through consent decrees that inadequately protected competition or the public... Read More
Image: Senator Klobuchar has introduced a new bill to bolster the Tunney Act.
Seemingly unconstrained by antitrust law, Zillow appears to be using a proxy to exclude another entrant, Homes.com, in yet another market that Zillow dominates.
Image: Seemingly unconstrained by antitrust law, Zillow now appears to be using a proxy to exclude another entrant.
Anger. That’s been the most frequent and obvious reaction to the Justice Department’s baffling and embarrassing decision this week to settle its monopoly lawsuit against Live Nation. After years of evidence that Live Nation, the largest artist manager and concert promoter in America, in coordination with its in-house event-ticketing monopoly Ticketmaster, consistently ripped off fans... Read More
Image: Live Nation's CEO Michael Rapino departs the courthouse from the antitrust trial.
You don’t have to be an economist to recognize that we are living through an era of diminished competition. You simply must open your eyes and ears. And wallet. Whether paying for airline tickets, groceries, health insurance, concert tickets, ski passes, or video streaming services, consumers have experienced a consistent rise in prices, making things... Read More
Image: A weakening of competition or competition at work?
Monopolization comes in many flavors. As we have seen over the years, firms use assorted and creative methods to acquire or maintain dominant positions. Exclusive dealing, predatory pricing, and tying are some of the competitively suspect practices familiar to antitrust lawyers and economists. But the courts have made clear the list of “anticompetitive” or unfair practices... Read More
Image: Union-busting has enabled UPMC to maintain a significant and illegitimate competitive edge over its rival in the downstream product market.
In December, Dennis Romboy and Art Raymond of Deseret News reported that the University of Utah’s board of trustees approved a first-of-its-kind private equity deal between the school and Otro Capital to fund athletics. The decision to partner with private equity appears to be based on a crude assessment of the contributions (revenues and expenses) that can be... Read More
Image: Utah's upset win generated favorable publicity for the university.
This week, to much fanfare, Google introduced its new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). UCP was developed in collaboration with multiple retail partners, including Target and Walmart.. UCP involves artificial intelligence (AI) agents (i.e., programs that can perform some tasks autonomously) in the shopping process (aka, agentic commerce). Simply put, instead of searching for a specific... Read More
Image: Much of the focus was on Google’s initial announcement. But real concern comes from its follow-up reply on social media.
Housing prices are up, and would-be homeowners are shifting to rental units. The inventory of homes for sale is shrinking because investors are buying up properties with cash offers. Investors then rent the homes to households who cannot afford mortgages. Many feel that the American dream of homeownership is slipping away. Building more homes won’t... Read More
Image: In Mechanicsville,, investors hold 14 percent of all homes and 24 percent of homes that are not owner-occupied.
In recent months, public attention has returned to a business practice that many consumers intuitively recognize as unfair and has provoked varying attempts to regulate: surveillance pricing. Investigations into Instacart’s grocery pricing, along with renewed scrutiny of algorithmic pricing by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), have revived concerns that firms increasingly tailor prices to individual consumers based not on cost or... Read More
