One class member reports receiving this letter today

Dear XXXX,

Do you have a love-hate relationship with your cable company? Do you love the programming and choice of shows, but hate the high cost, lousy customer service, and service interruptions?

Or maybe you've tried to change to a different cable company and were stuck, because your cable provider is the only option in your area.

So why would it make sense to allow Comcast — one of the nation's largest cable giants — to get even bigger and take over NBC, the network that bring us Sunday Night Football, popular shows like "The Biggest Loser," and the free online TV site Hulu.com? Who would be the "biggest loser" then?

If you think this merger will increase costs to consumers, use our easy petition to tell the FCC now!

Comcast is trying to take over NBC, claiming nothing will change. But that doesn't make sense. If successful, Comcast would be one of the country's largest media conglomerates with massive control over news, information, entertainment and cultural programming.

A combined Comcast/NBC/Universal would control a major television network and film studio, 36 cable television channels, the nation's largest cable company, and one of the nation's largest residential Internet providers.

Our cable rates will likely increase due to this purchase, as Comcast can charge its cable competitors more to get NBC's channel line-up. And a lot of the free content we now get from NBC, including free shows online, may be available only to Comcast customers.

It just takes a minute to weigh in with your own thoughts or just sign on to our petition — we make it easy!

The FCC has said it will make its decision this fall, so we want to make sure they hear from as many consumers as possible. Please send in your thoughts to the FCC via our easy link, and then forward this e-mail to friends and family so they can do the same.

Sincerely,
Chris Meyer,
Vice President, External Affairs
Consumer Reports
101 Truman Ave
Yonkers, NY 10703

More on the Southwest merger

Read it here.

New airline merger in the works

Story here.

New RPM case

Here is some background on a new RPM investigation, namely for on-line bookings of hotel rooms in the UK. It is striking how little comes up if you type "resale price maintenance" into news.google.com.

New article on French bookselling

There is an article in today's WSJ, "Discounted E-books Spark Outcry from French Shops," try to read it, at some point it should pop up on-line. The French law bans book discounts of more than five percent and so E-Books are being protested. The piece also discusses the controversies with Amazon.com and other related matters.

If any of you find a link, please post it in the comments, thanks!

Here is an interesting "monopoly" problem

The story, about rare earths.

The ongoing destruction of Barnes & Noble

This is what it reads like as companies are headed down the tubes.

More mergers

Global companies seeking a foothold in fast-growing countries such as China and Brazil have pushed deal-making in emerging markets above that of Europe for the first time.

So far this year, emerging market targeted M&A volume is up by more two-thirds to $575.7bn (€441bn), while European volume has increased by barely 20 per cent to $550.2bn, according to data from Dealogic.

Deals by companies in emerging markets now account for 30 per cent of global M&A activity, while Europe’s share has fallen to 29 per cent – the lowest level in 12 years.

The article, possibly gated, is here.

Assorted information

So far I have not myself located the Breit paper; perhaps you have visited my office, if so you will understand. My apologies, in any case it is not on the quiz.

For electronic reserve, I am told:

Your password is: industry

Do not use spaces or caps for passwords.

A Canadian defense of Potash remaining...Canadian

Read it here.

Might China enter the Potash bidding war?

Further information, on various issues, including the previous stock price, here.

Sherman Act violations with fines of $10 million or more

The list is here, read it. Is that a lot of cases or a little? What do you notice about the category "geographic scope"?

Potash takeover case

This recent story is remarkably relevant to what we have been discussing in class.

Does testosterone drive some mergers?

This article says yes.

A good essay on writing

By Michael Munger.

Good piece on antitrust so far under Obama

Read it here.

Mergers

The United-Continental merger is expected to be seen through Oct.1 or so. Read up on this, using Google, and come to class prepared to discuss the economic issues involved.