The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition enforces U.S. pro-competition laws in tandem — and at times in competition with — the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Like its DOJ cousin, the Bureau seeks to curb anticompetitive conduct, such as price-fixing and rivalry-reducing mergers. And, more so than in the recent past, it has taken action to
Federal Trade Commission
Tougher Merger Tests Emerge; Request for Public Comment
By Barry Barnett on
If you, like Blawgletter, wondered when U.S. antitrust watchdogs would announce new standards for judging whether M&A deals have hurt or would injure competition, wonder no more.
On April 20, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission put out for public comment a new set of "Horizontal Merger Guidelines…
Do Merger Guidelines Matter in Monopolization Cases?
By Barry Barnett on
The head of the DOJ's Antitrust Division, Christine Varney, has done a lot to change the Division's orientation on enforcement of Sherman Act section 2, which makes monopolization and attempts to monopolize unlawful. A big step involved withdrawing the section 2 "report" that the AD issued under Ms. Varney's predecessor. She has also joined with…