Textbooks for Tightwads Aug 28, 2009
The industry is an oligopoly, says James V. Koch, president of Old Dominion University, in a 2006 report by the U.S. Education Dept. Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. According to Koch, five publishers Thomson, Wiley, Houghton-Mifflin, Pearson, and The McGraw-Hill Companies. (BusinessWeek)
Kenya: Power Shortage Sparks Big Shift in Petroleum Market Aug 25, 2009
Kenya's petroleum market has been an oligopoly of four main players KenolKobil, Kenya Shell, Total and Caltex, but OiLibya, the fifth largest player, and National Oil have been closing the gap with steady growth of market share. Some analysts have argued that the licensing of more than 40 small players in a small market such as Kenya's has made the retail business non-profitable leaving control of the big supply contracts as the only viable means of growing market share. (allAfrica.com)
Debt Raters Have No Place in Brave New World: Alice Schroeder Aug 19, 2009
There is no wiggle room in Plan B. As long as the insurer/raters are allowed to keep their oligopoly, they may not swap, hedge or reinsure away the risk. Their activities must be overseen by regulators of impeccable quality who never have worked for, and agree they never will work for, either a ratings company or. (Bloomberg -- Columnists)
Fortescue Metals Aug 18, 2009
With all eyes on the big three iron ore producers, few expected anyone outside the oligopoly to break the deadlock with Chinas mills. Yet Fortescue Metals of Perth, ranked 59 places below Rio Tinto on the list of the worlds biggest materials companies by market capitalisation, has reached what it calls with Baosteel, the biggest steelmaker. (FT.com -- Markets)
Bolsa Tops Nafta Gains as Mexican Giants Overcome Worst Economy Since 1932 Aug 17, 2009
Theres a disconnect between the giants on the Mexican stock exchange that are free-cash-flow machines and are operating in oligopoly markets versus what is felt by the man on the street and small or medium-sized companies that are struggling, said , who manages $1 billion of emerging-market stocks for Putnam Investments LLC in Boston. With Mexicos economy forecast to shrink almost three times as fast as its northern neighbors this year, the biggest companies are overcoming the slump... (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Some things do work, and some things dont Aug 11, 2009
Examples: The medical monopoly, big three car monopoly, pharma oligopoly and oil; the two-party system, which badly needs a third party. They do make huge sums for a few people and groups. (Klamath Falls Herald & News, OR)
Dems Wrestle with Choices over Public Plan Aug 8, 2009
A public option such as that proposed by House Democrats, with prices initially set at 5 percent above Medicare rates but well below private insurer rates, would inject competition into markets that are now oligopolies: An American Medical Association study found that a single insurer controls more than half the market in 16 states and a third of it in 38 states. This competition, the thinking goes, would drive insurers to demand that medical providers find more cost-effective ways to deliver... (CBS News -- US)
CSL taken to court over price fixing claims Jul 17, 2009
In a damning 11-page complaint from the FTC, the four sitting commissioners set out their case for blocking CSL's proposed takeover of Talecris, arguing the industry already operated as a "tight oligopoly" ... "CSL and Baxter, in particular, have focused on preventing oversupply of IVIG [intravenous immunoglobulin] and plasma. "Baxter and CSL have developed sophisticated oligopoly models to estimate and predict changes in supply and demand. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Banyan: End of the line for the LDP Jul 17, 2009
Oligopolies in the form of the former zaibatsu conglomerates were supported, even if they had been implicated in Japanese aggression. A man accused of war crimes became a notable post-war prime minister and Yakuza gang bosses consorted with top politicians and helped put down left-wing protests. (The Economist)
The best of times, the worst of times Jul 16, 2009
Is Goldman going for a monopoly, oligopoly or duopoly ... (Though oligopoly is kinda cool too ... AM VET yeah, I ve added oligopoly to my vocabulary. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Are Business Executive Overpaid and Corrupt? Jul 10, 2009
It was the era of stable oligopolies, big unions, predictable markets and lackluster share performance ... Oligopolies are mostly gone and entry barriers are low ... But that was when Hollywood was dominated by big-studio oligopolies. (Townhall.com)
Economics focus: Deliver us from competition Jul 2, 2009
There is clearly some tension between financial-stability goals and the tenets of competition policy, which hold that oligopolies are inefficient and serve consumers badly. Nevertheless, many policymakers seem to think that some curbs on competition may be a price worth paying to improve stability. (The Economist)
Solving the Mystery of Patient Abus... Jun 30, 2009
In truth, the bill merely served as an instrument to debate then current Medicare standards and a reason for large pharmaceutical oligopolies to spend over $155 million within six months fighting against its passing. This data can be found on the website. (Suite101.com)
COMMENT: Sky's The Limit Jun 26, 2009
While privatisation is needed, it is important that public sector monopoly isn't replaced with private sector oligopoly. The former creates an indifferent product-service quality; the latter ends up fleecing customers. (India Times, India)
German developing gold dispensing vending machine Jun 19, 2009
Geissler's business plan is to undersell banks, which he said have an "oligopoly" on precious metals in Germany. Wherever the machines are placed, said Geissler, they will communicate with headquarters in Reutlingen via internal computers to update the value of gold every two minutes and maintain the lowest possible price. (Fresno Bee)
New clearing venture gets big backers, big foes Jun 2, 2009
But the launch of the business targeting a $29-trillion market is being thwarted by an oligopoly of banks that want to keep business at a rival clearinghouse in which they have an economic interest, according to a letter from one of the founding hedge funds, New York-based BlueMountain Capital Management LLC. ... The stunned silence that you heard from buy-side firms on Fridays call was the disquieting realization that the dealer community may be filibustering to protect its... (Crain's Chicago Business)
Einhorn: Drop Credit Rating System May 30, 2009
"They use it because it's part of a government-created oligopoly and often because they are required to by law.". Einhorn points out that "even Moody's largest shareholder, Warren Buffett, has said he doesn't believe in using ratings. We are short Moody's.". (Newsmax)
COLUMN: 370 million reasons why Congress has been failing us all May 28, 2009
There is no protection against too big to fail monopolies and oligopolies, as from Reagan onwards the Antitrust Act has been dormant, superseded by massive lobbying and campaign contributions. What should we do. (Winchester Star, MA, MA)
Letters to the editor (5/16/09) May 16, 2009
Price-gouging legislation is essential for a state like Alaska, where an oligopoly exists in the marketplace for gasoline and consumers continue to pay a premium at the pump. The percentage marked up from the refineries' cost to the price we pay to fill our gas tanks is skewed in favor of the refineries because of limited competition. (Anchorage Daily News)
Caution by banks may lessen weight of losses Apr 30, 2009
The only plausible answer is they didn't have to charge lower rates because the members of the cosy banking oligopoly were happy not to compete on price. Now that the banking sector's costs of funds are genuinely more expensive, they are crying that they cannot afford to lower borrowing costs for customers. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Rating agencies: The wages of sin Apr 29, 2009
The Fed is perpetuating a discredited oligopoly ... But better no ratings at all, perhaps, than those of a discredited oligopoly supported by a short-sighted central bank. (The Economist)
Wilmers: Recovery to be complex, daunting Apr 28, 2009
For years, Wilmers said, regulators allowed a banking oligopoly to develop and a few large institutions to skirt or flaunt the rules while they expanded to unprecedented sizes. At the same time, strict rules were applied to banks the size of $65 billion-asset M&T and smaller, he said. (Buffalo Business First, NY)
The SEC's Next Challenge: Fixing the Ratings Agencies Apr 15, 2009
In a February speech, Commissioner Kathleen Casey said it was imperative to address "the oligopoly in the rating industry" and overreliance on ratings in the SEC's rules. "These requirements which accord privileged status only to ratings from certain firms have served to elevate...ratings to a status that does not reflect the actual purpose, much less the limitations, of credit ratings," she said. (Time.com)
Congressman: Pelosi 'crazy,' 'mean as a snake'... Apr 8, 2009
The truth is we have something more a kin to an Oligopoly [sorry, i'm an economist. Sure, you vote, but it's always for the lesser of the two evils. (The Drudge Report)
Asia.view: Unfavoured nation Apr 2, 2009
Only four years ago, America s government barred CNOOC, PetroChina s sister company in China s energy oligopoly, from investing in Chevron. That was widely decried in China (and elsewhere) as xenophobic and, given the West s desire to invest in China, hypocritical as well. (The Economist)
Squeezed out Mar 20, 2009
Adding irony to the decision, it comes just as the Chinese government is indicating that it is actively encouraging, if not forcing, consolidation and greater market concentration in a number of areas, including steel, cars and airlines, and just after it imposed a new oligopoly in telecommunications. No domestic Chinese transaction has fallen foul of the new monopoly law. (The Economist)
Sompo Japan, Nipponkoa Plan Merger to Combat Recession, Falling Population Mar 12, 2009
The merger is important for both companies in allowing them the scale to compete in the increasingly consolidated insurance world, said , a Tokyo-based insurance analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. If this merger were to go ahead, we would have a three-way oligopoly akin in some ways to the mega banks situation in Japan. . (Bloomberg -- Japan)
Shelby: CITI is problem child... Mar 9, 2009
Even in a global economy, and even if other countries allow oligopolies to emerge. Smaller, more nimble firms will out-compete in the long run. (The Drudge Report)
Another View: Recovery rides on the 'G-2' Mar 7, 2009
It should open up oligopolies, such as in telecommunications, to competition. Further liberalization in trade and investment in services would make China's markets more competitive and productive, and it would reduce trade tensions. (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
Rudd calls on banks to cut fees Mar 6, 2009
"ABA research shows Australia's bank fees rank about mid range compared to other overseas countries, and students, pensioners and low income customers access some of the least expensive banking services in the world,'' said ABA chief executive David Bell. But Australian banking lacks intense competition, partly because the four major banks are forbidden from taking each other over by law. Even the competition regulator said this week that the sector bore some hallmarks of a "comfortable... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Briefing: On the traffickers' trail Mar 6, 2009
As many of the historic capos of these gangs are killed, arrested or extradited, what was an oligopoly has splintered into warring factions. This fragmentation is not wholly positive, admits Mr Medina Mora. (The Economist)
post a comment » Mar 3, 2009
The crisis will produce a handful of winners and help to reinforce global powerful monopolies or oligopolies controlling nearly all production, commerce and finance in the world economy. The importance of medium and small-size business will decline still further. (International Herald Tribune)
ROB Cover Story: Kicking the factory addiction Mar 2, 2009
It recommends a series of measures: freeing the yuan the Chinese currency to rise in value, making Chinese exports less affordable to foreigners and shifting the balance away from export-led growth; shifting more government spending from investment to social welfare and education; liberalizing the banking system and stock markets so that smaller, more efficient firms can raise money and get loans more easily; dismantling monopolies and oligopolies that prevent competition in the services sector.... (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Telcos: A Good Time to Reinvest Feb 27, 2009
Now, with the benefit of hindsight, they wonder about the consequences of an emerging oligopoly as stiff price competition continues to shrink the number of credible players left in the market. Only a few infrastructure vendors still have their heads above water. (BusinessWeek)
No Competition Feb 19, 2009
Here's the first: Capitalism preaches, and theoretically thrives on, the virtues of competition; in practice, however, advanced capitalist societies often prefer oligopolies or monopolies ... It's easy to see the putative advantages of oligopolies and monopolies. (Slate)
Let's hear it again for a genuine Aussie innovator Feb 11, 2009
Unlike other Australian corporate icons it does more than quarry resources or sell groceries or operate within the comfortable parameters of a domestic oligopoly. (Having said all this, investors must remember this will also be priced as a growth stock so the shares are not necessarily a bargain. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
