Do you find it unnerving when ads follow you around the internet? Today's episode reveals how websites monetize user behavior through advertising technologies such as tracking pixels. Our panel of advertising and privacy experts explain how ad re-targeting works, and debate the Federal Trade Commission's guidance on improper use of pixel technology and the potential impact on businesses and consumers.

With special guests:

Michael Sherling, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Olivia Adendorff, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Alan Butler, Executive Director and President, Electronic Privacy Information Center

Related Links:

Lurking Beneath the Surface: Hidden Impacts of Pixel Tracking,

Hosted by:

Anant Raut

In this episode, experts dive into the novel approach of adding racketeering charges in private antitrust litigation. Initially used to bring down organized crime rings, claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) have appeared in plaintiffs' lawsuits in the LIBOR and broiler chicken price-fixing cases. Host Anant Raut and co-host Sam Randall of Sperling Kenny Nachtwalter talk to Christina Lopez of the California DOJ and Ryan Holt of Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison PLC on the challenges of arguing RICO violations in antitrust suits. Later, they discuss how this might apply to algorithmic pricing.

With special guests:

Christina Lopez, Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice and Ryan Holt, Member, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, PLC

Hosted by:

Anant Raut and Sam Randall

In this latest episode of our wildly popular "Mergernomics" series, Ph.D. economist Dr. Joanna Tsai explains diversion analysis, an economic tool used by antitrust enforcers to examine how closely two companies compete and whether their merger will be bad for consumers. Host Anant Raut and co-host Carla Hine then dive into different types of diversion analysis, as well as some of the limitations of the test.

With special guest:

Joanna Tsai, Vice President, Cornerstone Research

Related Links:

The Role of Economic Analyses in Preparing for the First 30 Days of A Merger Review,

Hosted by:

Anant Raut and Carla Hine

In the latest episode of our popular "Mergernomics" series, Ted Rosenbaum, Deputy Director in the Bureau of Economics at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, explains how enforcers apply merger simulations to predict market changes after a proposed merger, sometimes with unexpected results. Hosts Anant Raut and Virginie Caspard then dive into two enforcement actions (against the Aetna-Humana and Wilhelmsen-Drew mergers) where merger simulations were used, and later discuss whether merger simulations are as useful in analyzing non-price markets.

With special guest:

Ted Rosenbaum, Deputy Director, Bureau of Economics, U.S. Federal Trade Commission

Hosted by:

Anant Raut and Virginie Caspard

In the latest episode in our popular "Mergernomics" series, Compass Lexecon's Hélder Vasconcelos tells you everything you need to know about bargaining leverage theory - how to calculate it, what it means, and when to use it. Hosts Anant Raut and Paula Camara discuss with Dr. Vasconcelos how merger enforcers applied this theory in their reviews of the AT&T/Time Warner and Fresenius/NxStage mergers, and differences between the US and European approaches. The panel also talks about the challenges and limitations of using bargaining leverage theory.

With special guests:

Paula Camara, Partner, Matthos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados and Helder Vasconcelos, Senior Vice President, Compass Lexecon

Hosted by:

Anant Raut

By now in our popular "Mergernomics" series you've learned how to calculate the potential harm from a horizontal merger; but how do you measure the risk from a vertical merger? In this episode, Cornerstone Research's Dr. Craig Malam tells you everything you need to know about "Vertical Math" analysis in merger review - how to calculate it, what it tells you, and when to use it. Hosts Anant Raut and Analysis Group's Emily Cotton use Microsoft's controversial acquisition of video game maker Activision to discuss with Dr. Malam how to assess the risks of total or partial foreclosure from a vertical merger and how to use this analytical tool in relation to other economic tests in this series.

With special guests:

Dr. Craig Malam, Principal, Cornerstone Research and Emily Cotton, Managing Principal, Analysis Group

Hosted by:

Anant Raut

In this episode, listeners will hear the oral history of the landmark capacitors price-fixing case, a case that went to trial not once but twice in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Attorneys for both the plaintiffs and the defense discuss their courtroom strategies, their approach to damages and guilty pleas, and adjustments they had to make on the fly in response to an unprecedented global health crisis. Later, presiding Judge James Donato shares his perspective on what worked well and what didn't, as well as advice he wishes every trial lawyer would follow, that no litigator will want to miss!

With special guests:

• Christopher Young, Partner, Joseph Saveri Law Firm
• Steven Williams, Founder, Steven Williams Law P.C.
• David D. Cross, Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP
• Margaret A. Webb, Morrison & Foerster LLP
• The Hon. James Donato, United States District Judge, Northern District of California

Hosted by:

Anant Raut

In this episode of Trust and Trade, Dr. Elizabeth Wang, Executive VP of economic consulting firm Compass Lexecon, explains how antitrust enforcers use the Gross Upward Pricing Pressure Index (GUPPI) analysis to determine whether to stop a merger. Dr. Wang walks listeners through what the GUPPI test is, what it tells you, when to use it, and its advantages and limitations. Later, host Anant Raut and co-host NERA's Anton Kandalin discuss how the GUPPI test was used to challenge the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster mergers.

With special guest:

Dr. Elizabeth Wang, Executive Vice President, Compass Lexecon

Hosted by:

Anant Raut and Antonin Kaladin

Why are groceries more expensive than they were 4 years ago? In this episode, agriculture policy expert Austin Frerick and economist Tim Richards debate the impact of consolidation on food prices, and the role antitrust should play. Hosts Anant Raut, Evan Harris, and Erika Inwald later discuss the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit to block the Kroger-Albertson's merger, and what to expect at trial later this month.

With special guests:

Austin Frerick, Fellow, Thurman Arnold Project (Yale University) and Dr. Timothy J. Richards, Morrison Chair of Agribusiness, W. P. Carey School of Business (Arizona State University)

Hosted by:

Anant Raut, Evan Harris, Morrison Foerster LLP, and Erika Inwald, Hausfeld LLP

In this episode you'll learn everything you need to know about the Critical Loss test used by enforcers to determine whether to block a merger - what it tells you, how to calculate it, and when to use it. Guest Ron Drennan, Economic Advisor to the DOJ Antitrust Division and former acting director of economics, explains how Critical Loss predicts the profitability of a post-merger price increase. Co-hosts Scott Scheele and Anant Raut later discuss real world cases where the Critical Loss test was used by the DOJ in litigation (H&R Block/TaxAct and Aetna/Humana), with mixed results. The latest in our "Mergernomics" series, demystifying the economic tools used in merger analysis!

With special guest:

Ronald Drennan, Economic Advisor, United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division

Hosted by:

Anant Raut and Scott Scheele, Kirkland & Ellis LLP