Category: Global Blogs

Spain: EU needs more time to mull Holcim, Cemex deal (Competition Policy International)

The European Commission has reportedly extended its deadline to rule on Cemex’s proposed acquisition of rival Holcim in Spain.

The Commission announced Tuesday that it will now decide on the transaction by the middle of September. Its previous deadline was early September, and the authority did not specify why it extended …read more

US: AmEx argues high fees are crucial to competition (Competition Policy International)

American Express is defending its high interchange fees in court against claims by the US Department of Justice that those fees harm competition, according to reports.

AmEx president of the company’s US consumer services business Joshua Silverman testified in court this week to defend those high fees, arguing that they are …read more

UK: Former OFT slammed for ‘flawed’ pricing investigation (Competition Policy International)

The former Office of Fair Trading, which was recently merged with the Competition Commission to become the Competition and Markets Authority, conducted a flawed competition probe into online hotel pricing companies, Skyscanner claims.

According to reports, Skyscanner argues that an agreement the OFT reached with rivals Intercontinental Hotels Group, Expedia and …read more

US: BP, Shell want oil price-fixing case tossed (Competition Policy International)

Defendants accused of manipulating the Brent crude oil benchmark have asked as US judge to dismiss the case, say reports.

BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Morgan Stanley filed a motion Monday to dismiss the lawsuit, which claims the companies colluded for 12 years to manipulate oil prices in violation of US …read more