Regulation (Macro)
Bundle of Sorrows (6/22/2006)
Merger between firms making complementary components might be anti-competitive if the merged company can price their bundled products lower than the independent component makers.
Keywords: antitrust regulation, bundle, competition, complementary goods, components, discount, European Commission, GE, Honeywell, Justice Department, merger, pricing, profit maximization
Too Global To Be National? (6/18/2010)
US multinationals fatten their bottom lines by arbitraging wages, taxes, and regulations across countries.
Keywords: arbitrage, capital, intellectual property, profit, regulation, taxes, wages
Too Much Vitamin C? (6/22/2006)
Legacy habit of central planning has led to antitrust charges against Chinese vitamin C oligopoly.
Keywords: antitrust, cartel, price fixing, regulation, vitamin C
Vitamin Inc. (3/22/2005)
Mature oligopoly with a few large producers of homogeneous commodities is driven to output and price fixing to increase their profit.
Keywords: antitrust, BASF, cartel, commodities, homogeneous products, Justice Department, lysine, oligopoly, price fixing, Rhone-Poulenc, Roche, vitamin
Who Rates the Raters? (6/17/2010)
Bond rating agencies found it hard to serve both the interests of bond investors and bond issuers since they were directly paid by bond issuers for favorable ratings.
Keywords: bond, Investment grade, mortgage-backed securities, rating agencies, subprime mortgage