It matters how you look
Consumer belief in all regulation and its efficacy has taken such an enormous battering following the banking crisis that regulators have to look more like policemen and less like flunkeys if they want to be taken seriously.
Antitrust
Antitrust refers to a field of economic policy and laws dealing with monopoly and monopolistic practices. Antitrust law or antitrust policy are terms primarily used in the United States, while in many other countries the terms competition law or policy are used. Some countries have utilized the phrases Fair
Trading or Antimonopoly law. The intellectual basis for antitrust economics or policy is the sub-field of industrial organization economics which addresses issues arising from the behaviour of firms operating under different market structure conditions and the effect this has on economic performance. Most antitrust or competition laws have provisions dealing with structure such as mergers, monopoly, dominant market position and concentration, as well as behaviour, such as collusion, price fixing, and predatory pricing.
Source: OECD
AG Sharpston’s Opinion in KME: a new step toward full appellate jurisdiction in antitrust cases (imposing fines)?
In her recent Opinion in the KME case, AG Sharpston ventured a few considerations on the nature of EU antitrust decisions and on the due process requirements arising from Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the right to a fair trial, to be added to a growing list of signals perceptible in recent judgments of a progressive move toward a broader interpretation of the EU Courts unlimited jurisdiction and, possibly, the exercise of full appellate jurisdiction over Commission decisions imposing fines.
FCO fines cartelists and independent accountant – the fire-fighting vehicles decision
The German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) fined three manufacturers of fire-fighting vehicles on February 10, 2011, imposing € 20.5 million in total. The FCO found that the companies had engaged in bid rigging since 2001 (price-fixing, quota agreements and market sharing). As usual, the FCO did not only fine the companies, but also the individuals…
U.S. Dep’t of Justice Targets MFN Agreements
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to curb the use of so-called “most favored nation” (MFN) agreements — a common business practice that the DOJ believes can sometimes result in anticompetitive effects when entered into by a dominant firm. In October of last year, the DOJ commenced an action against Blue Cross Blue…
Luxury Watches And Spare Parts – The General Court Discusses The Analysis Of Aftermarkets
In a recent judgment of December 15, 2010, the General Court had an opportunity to discuss the competitive analysis of aftermarkets. At issue in that case were complaints by independent watch repairers that they were unable to obtain spare parts from manufacturers of luxury watches. The Commission rejected these complaints inter alia on the ground…
Federal Court of Justice limits judicial review of merger clearances subject to commitments in Germany (EDEKA/Plus)
On October 5, 2010, the Federal Court of Justice upheld the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals’ rejection of an appeal against the conditions of a merger clearance decision brought by the merging parties (EDEKA/Plus, KVR 33/09). The Court of Appeals considered the action as inadmissible, because the parties had already implemented the merger and thus lacked…
A GUPPI Revolution in the EU?
The new U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines, issued in August 2010, introduce the so-called GUPPI test, the Gross Upward Pricing Pressure Index. According to the U.S. Guidelines, “[a]dverse unilateral price effects can arise when the merger gives the merged entity an incentive to raise the price of a product previously sold by one merging firm and…
The Financial Crisis – three lessons for antitrust (III)
The third of a series of three postings on antitrust and the financial crisis: between hope and modesty, the financial crisis as a reminder of antitrust as a discipline.
The Financial Crisis – three lessons for antitrust (II)
The second of a series of three postings on antitrust and the financial crisis: to what extent was/will competition law enforcement (be) affected by the financial crisis?
Odile Jacob: the rehabilitation of the parking arrangement
More than six years after the case was launched, the General Court rendered its judgment in Case T-279/04, Editions Odile Jacob Sas v. Commission, relating to the appeal against a 2004 decision of the European Commission approving the acquisition by French publisher Lagardère of its rival Vivendi Universal Publishing (“VUP”). The saga begins in 2002,…