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☆ The national security concerns are 'severe,' former policy director says of TikTok in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe national security concerns are 'severe,' former policy director says of TikTok in the U.S.David Balto, former Federal Trade Commission policy director, says TikTok "has done the incredible" in bringing Republicans and Democrats together in a "dramatically divisive" Congress.

Persons: TikTok, David Balto Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Republicans Locations: U.S

☆ Courts should block the new sports streaming platform to protect consumers, says David Balto
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCourts should block the new sports streaming platform to protect consumers, says David BaltoDavid Balto, former FTC policy director and former trial attorney in the antitrust division of the DOJ, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss FuboTV's lawsuit against Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery over its new joint sports streaming platform, what's at stake for the media landscape, the Capital One-Discover deal, and more.

Persons: David Balto David Balto Organizations: DOJ, Disney, Fox, Warner Bros, Discovery

☆ A merger between Cigna and Humana that would have created a gigantic $140 billion healthcare conglomerate has been called off
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-10 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cigna and Humana called off a potentially massive merger. Cigna still believes a merger with Humana has merit, The Wall Street Journal reported. AdvertisementCigna is giving up on its merger with Humana, which would have created a healthcare giant worth $140 billion, according to reports. This revelation caused Cigna stock to drop nearly 10% as investors began to question the wisdom of using the company's stock as currency, according to the outlet. Instead of the merger Cigna is planning an additional $10 billion of stock buybacks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Persons: Humana, —, Cigna, David Balto Organizations: Humana, Street Journal, Service, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, Business, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal, Biden, Antitrust, Federal Trade Commission

☆ Why a giant health insurer merger is probably destined to fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The giant health insurers Cigna and Humana are reportedly considering a merger. While they offer different kinds of health insurance, the deal is likely to face antitrust scrutiny. Still, Cigna and Humana did toy with a deal way back in 2014 before they pursued deals with other partners. Later, to sidestep antitrust scrutiny, health insurers eyed mergers with other pieces of the healthcare system outside of insurance. Cigna and Humana would face a more skeptical Justice DepartmentAny deal between health insurers the size of Cigna and Humana would have to get past the Justice Department's antitrust enforcers.

Persons: Biden, —, Justice that's, BofA, David Balto, Cigna, That's, Balto, Barak Richman, there's, Matthew Cantor, Constantine Cannon, divestitures aren't, Molina wouldn't, Cantor Organizations: Humana, Service, Reuters, Bloomberg, Street, Department, Justice, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, Equity, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Express, CVS Health, Aetna, Kindred, Biden Administration, FTC, Duke University Locations: Cigna, Aetna, Delaware

The U.S. consumer agency, which enforces federal antitrust law, and 17 states filed their lawsuit against Amazon in Seattle federal court on Tuesday, asking a U.S. judge to consider an injunction and other penalties to combat alleged unlawful conduct. The FTC's lawsuit is related to but broader than a series of private consumer cases filed in recent years against Amazon that are pending in the same U.S. federal court. The private antitrust cases offer an early window into some of the legal arguments Amazon could be expected to make to challenge the FTC's lawsuit. Generally speaking, U.S. judges are "wary of using antitrust law to punish low-pricing behavior," said antitrust scholar Sean Sullivan of the University of Iowa's law school. Sullivan said it is not always a clear line between "good low pricing" — based on market competition — and "bad low pricing" that helps a company acquire or maintain market power.

Persons: Mike Segar, David Balto, Diane Hazel, Foley, Lardner, Hazel, Tom Cotter, David Zapolsky, Zapolsky, Lina Khan, Ricardo Martinez, Martinez, George W, Bush, Sean Sullivan, Sullivan, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Federal Trade, Amazon.com, Amazon, Reuters, FTC, U.S, University of Minnesota Law School, District, University of, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Seattle, Washington, Mt, Rainier

The discord between Russia and the other Arctic Council members means that an effective response to these changes is far less likely. Recently, it has taken steps to expand cooperation in the Arctic with non-Arctic states. On April 24, Russia and China signed a memorandum establishing cooperation between the countries' coast guards in the Arctic. "We need to safeguard the Arctic Council as the most important international forum for Arctic cooperation and make sure it survives," Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Eivind Vad Petersson told Reuters. "I don't see an Arctic Council without Russia in the future," said Larsen, a Greenland lawmaker at the Danish Parliament and the Chair of Arctic Parliamentarians, a body including MPs from across the Arctic countries.

☆ Ticketmaster's botching of Taylor Swift ticket sales 'converted more Gen Z'ers into antimonopolists overnight than anything I could have done,' FTC chair says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Disastrous presales for Taylor Swift's Eras tour renewed controversy over Ticketmaster's dominance. In 2010, Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation, raising antitrust concerns. Live Nation has been facing an ongoing DOJ antitrust investigation since before the Taylor Swift-Ticketmaster saga, the New York Times reported last month. Representatives for Ticketmaster and Live Nation did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning. Former FTC policy director David Balto previously told Insider that the Eras Tour ticket crisis shows the merger's anti-competitive effects on consumers, including exorbitant fees.

☆ Taylor Swift fans are angry at Ticketmaster's merger with Live Nation after the company's debacle around her concert tickets. An antitrust expert who testified against it said he thinks breaking it up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Taylor Swift tickets queue was once a madhouse, before Ticketmaster canceled its public ticket sale. Some are pointing to Ticketmaster's merger with Live Nation as the reason that prices are high and competition low. An antitrust expert who testified against the merger told Insider that breaking it up "will be a major priority for the antitrust division" of the DOJ. "The value in going to the Taylor Swift concert is Taylor Swift," Balto said. The madness over Taylor Swift tickets has refreshed calls for the merger to be reexamined, with several lawmakers weighing in.

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