Admin, Author at Antitrust Education Project

EU Sweeps Aside the Amazon-iRobot Deal

There’s something rotten about the ease with which European antitrust regulators are nixing U.S. mergers and leveling fines against successful American companies. Case in point – the scuttling of the Amazon purchase of iRobot on Monday.

It’s Time to Release the Antitrust Hounds on ESG

The stock market’s recent rise and gentle subsidence has been something of a January-effect cliché. While the market flirts with historic highs, and happy talk about a “soft landing” is shared over cocktails, the U.S. economy continues to struggle against the weight of high national and consumer debt, reduced but persistent inflation, geopolitical turbulence … and lower investor returns from ESG funds.

The Dunkin’ Donuts Suit and Economic Illiteracy

The most striking – and risible – feature of recent federal antitrust lawsuits is their paucity of economic logic. This is on display from the self-contradictory arguments of Lina Khan’s FTC antitrust case against Amazon, to DOJ’s illogical suit against the JetBlue-Spirit merger. Both would reduce consumer choices and raise prices in the name of protecting the consumer.

Are Follow This and Arjuna Capital Violating Antitrust Law in ExxonMobil Case?

ExxonMobil is exercising its legal right to put the kibosh on an ESG effort to force the company out of its main business of producing oil and gas, which the last time I checked is a legal business. After being overrun in 2021 when activist-investment firm Engine No. 1 succeeded in placing three directors on Exxon’s board, the company is showing that it remains uncowed by the ESG movement and its Rube Goldberg approach to the environment.

JetBlue and Spirit Defy Judge Young’s Nonsensical Ruling

Kudos to JetBlue and Spirit for their brave decision to appeal federal Judge William Young’s decision to block their $3.8 billion merger.

Investing in Lawsuits: Falling Short on ESG Claims Is Now a Major Class-Action Business

Bloomberg Law reports that investors are securing 25 percent returns or greater (up to hundreds of times) in funds that back litigation against major international corporations that are deemed to have failed in their E or their S or their G responsibilities.

Consumer Benefit – the Missing Ingredient in the Amazon and Google Antitrust Complaints

The economic reasoning in the Department of Justice antitrust complaint against Google is weak. In the Federal Trade Commission complaint against Amazon, it is nonexistent. Lina Khan’s FTC has 80 economists on staff – but somehow the economic modeling typical of an FTC complaint are nowhere to be found in her filing.

Ganging Up on Google

A jury recently ruled against Google in the Fortnite case, granting all 11 antitrust claims leveled by Epic Games. This decision will certainly reshape the app market and force the transfer of monumental amounts of capital from Google to app developers.

Why I Joined the Airlines’ Amicus

When American Airlines and JetBlue created an alliance for service to Northeastern airports – aligning schedules, coordinating slots and gates, sharing codes – they justified this arrangement as pro-consumer.

Lina Khan’s Case Against Amazon Refuted by Logic and the Market

Two recent developments ought to prompt a federal judge in Washington State to toss out the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.