Four high-profile American freight rail derailments in four weeks — three of which involved rail cars carrying hazardous materials, with multiple chemical spills and fires — sounds like a lot. In fact, trains go off the rails in America’s railroad network about 20 times a week on average, so there have probably been dozens in... Read More
Cartels run on collusion like a rocket runs on fuel. Therefore, if we can destroy the infrastructure that enables collusion, we can greatly deconcentrate markets. This begs the question: what exactly is that infrastructure? For a cartel to collude, it needs to have channels of communication among its constituents. For example, OPEC routinely holds meetings.... Read More
Several antitrust commentators have noticed that, despite losing its challenge to block Meta from acquiring the leading maker of VR dedicated fitness apps, the FTC secured a victory for antitrust agencies in the sense that the opinion could rehabilitate the theory of potential competition in blocking future mergers. In full disclosure, I was the FTC’s... Read More
I love eggs. I really do. There was a year in law school when I religiously made and ate an egg sandwich for breakfast every day. To this day, I believe an egg fried in olive oil until the yolks are jammy and the edges are crispy is a perfect food. Since last year, though,... Read More
I have heard this story at countless antitrust conferences: If rivals speak of price fixing, best to spill water and walk out, because this way people remember you left (insert forced laughter here). I have heard it in a variety of presentations, with a variety of panelists taking credit for it. Christine Wilson, the Trump-appointed... Read More
On Wednesday, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally concluded that Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers. It also released a set of proposed remedies to address the likely anticompetitive harms, including a mandatory divestiture of (1) Activision’s business associated with its... Read More
Congressional Democrats managed to pass a few crucial measures during December’s lame duck session. One tiny fraction of the omnibus bill to fund the government was the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, a measure for which anti-monopoly advocates have long been pushing. The Act reforms the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filing fee structure, the program through which... Read More
An analysis of public comments submitted to the FTC In conjunction with its proposed ban on noncompete agreements, the FTC solicited comments on from any interested parties. Submission began on January 10 and, as of Friday, January 27, 2022, approximately 5,200 comments had been submitted. Fortunately, under the eRulemaking Initiative, the US Government has broadened... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced it is proposing to ban non-compete agreements between employers and workers. We are of the opinion that much of the conversation about the FTC’s proposed rule, both in terms of its substance and its ability to promulgate, are muddled between differing concepts. Our takeaway is that there is no... Read More
