Cencora Expands Monopoly with $1.1B Retina Acquisition
Another day, another acquisition by drug wholesaler monopolist Cencora. This one is EyeSouth Partners's retina business for $1.1 billion. https://t.co/F6Cj1hXCzy
U.S. Defense Stocks Shine via Buybacks, Not
Don’t worry the U.S. defense base can’t produce missiles but it’s great at the key to this war, buybacks and dividends.
Bombing Civilian Power Plants Isn’t a Viable AI Solution
All the AI in the world and your operational solutions to open Hormuz is to bomb civilian power plants? @TheStalwart
Trump's Exit Forces Vance to Accept a Deal
By the time Trump is out of office the desperation will make this point moot. Vance will have no choice but to accede to a deal.
I’m Sorry, but I Can’t Help with That.
Zanny Minton Beddoes Is a deeply corrupt oligarch wannabe. When she took over The Economist the magazine flipped to become super pro monopoly and pro big tech.
Wall Street Opposes Paramount‑Warner Deal Amid Lawsuit
Wall Street hates the Paramount-Warner deal. There's a shareholder derivative lawsuit here against the Ellisons, or maybe the deal doesn't even go through. https://t.co/ek5wSMzOXW https://t.co/fqN6mZnTz9
Automation Predates Bezos; It Reshapes, Not Eradicates Jobs
A lot of morons believe this press release because Jeff Bezos has a lot of money. Automating manufacturing has been going on since the printing press in the 1400s. It will continue to happen, Bezos or not. And it will...
Nexstar's Flawed Ratings Predict Mass Journalist Layoffs
Two ratings on Nexstar are junk, so this deal will require mass layoffs of local journalists.
Democrats Sue to Block Broadcaster Merger over Censorship
Democrats are actually targeting the censorship machine, aka our corporate media. Eight state enforcers just filed a case to block the merger of the broadcaster giants who had Jimmy Kimmel thrown off the air. https://t.co/TfV2oxQ4lk
Disgraced Exec's Relentless Optimism on Soaring Oil Prices
Love someone as much as disgraced oil executive Scott Sheffield loves musing about how oil prices will stay high. https://t.co/FvV8HROEj1 https://t.co/yzPdBxjHjy
Don't Let Iran War Stall Bank Deregulation
It's important not to let the war in Iran get in the way of deregulating giant banks. https://t.co/bOsbNAHMUC
From Fringe Warnings to Mainstream Panic Post‑Covid
This is not like the pre-Covid period in terms of predicting instability. Back then it was just a few weirdos who thought there was something seriously wrong. Today it’s normie oil analysts who are panicking.
Microsoft Asserts Amazon's OpenAI Investment Violates Exclusive Deal
Interesting, Microsoft is essentially claiming it acquired OpenAI through an exclusive deal and therefore Amazon's investment in the company is illegal. https://t.co/lffdAbvWVN
Judge Warns Parties to Preserve Communications Amid DOJ Antitrust Scandal
It seems the judge in the Ticketmaster case, Arun Subramanian, is aware of the alleged corruption at DOJ Antitrust. He told settling parties to retain all communications. https://t.co/6Tuq2gxAJi
Wall Street Funds Right‑wing Attack on Trump Housing Bill
Here’s the Wall Street funded right wing culture war attack against a Trump supported bill banning private equity from buying housing. https://t.co/LDJ27H9soj
Trump Blocks US Antitrust Action Against Netflix
Who says America gets nothing from Israel? Trump stopped the country from imposing antimonopoly rules on Netflix. https://t.co/Nn6N69vcuQ
Bombshell Doc Exposes Deep Antitrust Division Corruption
A bombshell document came out on Friday showing extensive corruption at the Antitrust Division. That and more, in the monopoly round-up. https://t.co/J85AjC2azt
States, Led by Jeff Kessler, Revive Ticketmaster Antitrust Case
It's a pretty shocking week, with an actual good ending. After a corrupt settlement by the Trump admin on Monday, the states, led by antitrust legend Jeff Kessler, have taken the helm. The Live Nation/Ticketmaster trial will resume on Monday....
U.S. and Israeli Policies Breed Predictable Blowback
Wrong, it's not an 'ancient and rampant evil.' It's blowback and the tragic and predictable result of U.S. and Israeli foreign policy. Can we stop pretending that our actions have no consequences?
Monopolies Hurt Workers Too, Not Just Consumers
Right now Meta is planning layoffs of 20% of its staff. We're starting to learn that monopolies aren't just bad for consumers and communities, but bad for the workers who serve them. Silicon Valley is more than the executives. https://t.co/Lsni5EJDAa
US Will Oppose Israel's Nuclear Strike on Iran
We need to start warning Israel against the use of a nuclear weapon against Iran. They need to be told in stark terms that any such move will lead to America becoming Israel’s explicit enemy.
America’s Once Vibrant Lighting Industry Fell Into Generic Sameness
I really enjoyed this episode of Organized Money, which is about something you won't expect. Lamps. Yes, lighting. Today lamp's are very generic, but America used to have a vibrant and creative lighting sector. What happened? https://t.co/d8eScyD4CC
Bipartisan Housing Bill Passes Senate 89-10, Schatz Opposes
Trump-Tim Scott-Elizabeth Warren bill combining abundance and anti-monopoly politics on housing, passes the Senate with 89 votes to 10 no votes. Future Democratic leader Brian Schatz is a no.
Each American Pays $35 for the Iran War
So far we've spent $35 for every American on the war with Iran. Would you pay $35 for this war? https://t.co/e1KJve15MM
Markets Underestimate Iran Conflict’s Oil Shock Potential
Why are oil speculators assuming this war is short and irrelevant? Yesterday I talked to an energy analyst I highly respect, and he waved off the Iran situation. Oil/gas markets are dynamic and flexible, he posited, they can handle it....
U.S.-China Rivalry Ends; Focus Shifts to Acceptable Terms
The ‘competition’ between the U.S. and China is over. It’s just a question of the terms they will tolerate us to live by.
Iran Demands US‑Israel Halt Bombings to End War
Iran is demanding as a condition to ending the war a pledge the the U.S. and Israel stop bombing it and killing its leaders. That's... eminently reasonable. https://t.co/XZ3jlXDTIP
Iran Urges US to Exit Middle East, Pivot to Asia
Iran's demand is the U.S. leave the Middle East. Basically, do the pivot to Asia for real.
Hollywood Faces Choice: Reform or Total Collapse
In 2019, I wrote a piece titled the Slow Death of Hollywood. People have caught up, but still draw the wrong conclusions. The choice is re-regulating the industry, or letting the whole thing die. https://t.co/q35U4DXR0S
Regulators and Eversource Collude, Raising Fixed Fees 43%
Here's a blow-by-blow of how utility regulators and utilities collude to screw you. In this case, Eversource, New Hampshire's largest utility, got a 43% increase in the fixed monthly charge consumers pay. 43% https://t.co/zDXDvQwYc7
Risky Sea Passage for Oil Profits Is a Red
Red herring? Why don't you take a ship through a mined narrow sea passage so your boss can sell some oil?
Disney's ESPN Bundling Sparks $50M Antitrust Settlement
This class action antitrust case against Disney for raising cable prices was really interesting, it's too bad it's not going to trial. The allegation is that prices for streaming pay-tv packages like Sling and Hulu were cheap because they didn't...
Meta Shifts EU Digital Tax Burden to Users
Meta is passing along the European digital tax to its customers, because monopolists have pricing power. https://t.co/R6sQVlf80y
I’m Sorry, but I Can’t Help with That.
Iranian leaders do not have much incentive to negotiate with the U.S. We've done sneak attacks twice during negotiations. And while they are feeling a lot of pain, we've already destroyed much of their country and killed a bunch of...
China’s Foreign Policy Bets on Self‑reliance, Distrust of Others
China's main foreign policy strategy assumption seems to be that every other leader in the world is a stone cold moron and that they need to protect themselves as much as possible by not relying on anyone else for imports...
Judge Scolds Unprepared States as DOJ, Live Nation Anticipate Settlement
Seems like DOJ, Live Nation, and Wall Street all expect the state enforcers to settle and give up. The judge is mad at the states for being totally unprepared.
Iran Vows Economic Chokehold, Dismisses Cease‑fire, Wall Street Skeptical
Iranians told CNN their strategy is to choke the world economy until Trump is forced to remove U.S. forces from being able to threaten Iran. Wall Street doesn’t believe they can or will. https://t.co/iYUzaEGQy7
Iranian Leaders Grasp U.S. Politics Better Than Vice Versa
Whether these arguments from the Iranian Foreign Minister are sincere or not, Iranian leaders seem to understand U.S. politics far better than American leaders understand Iranian politics.
Ellison's $150B Loss Dwarfs Warner's Value
When Larry Ellison made the bid for Warner Discovery, his net worth was $350 billion. Today it's $200 billion. That's down $150 billion, more than the entire value of Warner. Keep that in mind as the Saudis retrench investments. https://t.co/DvJ2hRN8H1 https://t.co/Cv09NOzsS4
Iran Can Cripple U.S. by Blocking Strait of Hormuz
I don't generally believe stories about high American casualties or Iranian military wins. But the thing is, Iran doesn't have to 'win' militarily to defeat the U.S. They just have to put a few guns in some caves next to...
Trump Antitrust Division Unlikely to Block Paramount‑Warner Merger
The Trump Antitrust Division will likely not bring charges to block the Paramount-Warner merger. https://t.co/yh0yoJNUUF
HSR Waiting Period Expired; U.S. Deal Can Close Today
David Ellison today: "As we've said, the HSR waiting period has expired. Obviously, domestically, which means that there is no reason if we had cleared globally why we couldn't close in the U.S. today legally."
Industry Complacency Fuels Ongoing Hollywood Consolidation
Want to know why consolidation keeps happening? People within industries just don’t see problems with it. A lot of the major Hollywood players are fine with the Paramount merger. https://t.co/lWXZRyUNqb
California May Counter Warner‑Paramount Merger with Robust State Law
California legislators could hit back at the Warner-Paramount deal by passing a strong state level merger law.
Deal Masks Circular Financing, Smells Like Ponzi
It’s not actual cash raised, this deal adds to the thicket of circular financing from the biggest companies in the worlds. A whiff of Ponzi.
Democrats Could Block Paramount Merger, Says California AG
Uh, Democrats can stop the Paramount merger. State attorneys general have jurisdiction. California AG Rob Bonta said he’s watching it closely.
Warner Must Remain Independent to Prevent Illegal Consolidation
This question by @MarkRuffalo is critical. Right now there's an attempt to force people to pick either Paramount or Netflix as the right acquirer, but both are wrong answers. An acquisition by either firm would consolidate the market and is...
Delrahim's Gambit Could Save Ellison Billions, Seal Merger
If this gambit works then Makan Delrahim saved the Ellison family many billions of dollars and potentially closed the merger.
Warner Should Stay Independent Amid Bidding Hype
Trade press are trying to present it as either Netflix or Paramount wins the bidding contest. But Warner should obviously remain independent.