Author: 21st Century Competition

China: Microsoft, auto probes revive foreign relations anxieties (Competition Policy International)

China’s ongoing crackdown of foreign auto makers, combined with reports of dawn raids of Microsoft offices in the nation, are reviving anxieties that China is using antimonopoly regulation to favor domestic companies over their foreign counterparts.

Reports emerged last week that China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce launched a second …read more

US: NCAA handed monumental loss in antitrust suit (Competition Policy International)

A federal judge decided Friday that the NCAA has violated antitrust laws in barring collegiate athletes from receiving compensation for certain business ventures, say reports.

In a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball athlete Ed O’Bannon, who was joined by 19 others, US District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the NCAA …read more

UK: Ex-energy officials blame Ofgem for price spikes (Competition Policy International)

Ofgem has referred the UK’s energy industry to the Competition and Market Authority for investigation after finding evidence of anticompetitive practices leading to higher prices for consumers. But now, Ofgem is under scrutiny as former energy officials blame the watchdog itself for the anticompetitive market.

Reports say five former energy regulators …read more

US: Judge brands Silicon Valley hiring collusion settlement as unreasonable (Competition Policy International)

US District Judge Lucy Koh slammed major companies’ proposed settlement to end litigation accusing the firms of colluding to not hire each other’s employees and keep wages unfairly low as an embarrassing, unreasonable offer.

Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe offered $324.5 million in settlement funds to thousands of tech employees that …read more