Author: 21st Century Competition

UK: LME finds ‘obvious’ weak spots in metals price-fixing (Competition Policy International)

The head of the London Metal Exchange spoke at a conference on Tuesday to discuss the process of setting gold pricing benchmarks, telling reporters that the methods are vulnerable to manipulation.

LME Chief Executive Garry Jones said the London fix is “obviously…open to manipulation” in the way the benchmark is currently …read more

US: Sterling’s bizarre antitrust suit bounces back (Competition Policy International)

Donald Sterling is giving the NBA a headache with his decision to revoke his agreement to the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers and pursue a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against the association just days after he withdrew the suit.

According to reports, while Sterling agreed last week to drop the …read more

European Commission – Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to ICAP for suspected participation in yen interest rate derivatives cartels

European Commission Press release Brussels, 10 June 2014 The European Commission has informed the UK based broker ICAP of its preliminary view that it may have breached EU antitrust rules by facilitating several cartel infringements in the market for interest rate derivatives denominated in the yen currency. …read more

US: Yet another multibillion-dollar pharma merger announced (Competition Policy International)

As the world’s pharmaceutical industry continues to see an influx of consolidation, reports say the latest merger was announced when Merck and Idenix Pharmaceuticals revealed plans to combine in a $3.85 billion deal.

According to a press release, the transaction has already been approved by the boards of directors for both …read more