The FTC recently gave Staples the green light to buy one of the two wholesalers that sell to independent office supply dealers. The decision hardly made a blip in the news cycle. But it sheds enormous insight into the origins of the big-get-bigger U.S. economy.
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Losing a mobile Internet access provider as an option is bad, but it isn’t the only consequence that we face if the Sprint and T-Mobile Merger goes through. There will likely be job losses, higher rates, locking out new entrants to the market, broken promises regarding 5G, and harm especially to people in rural areas.… Read More
A wave of consolidation has swept across the U.S. economy over the past decade, reshaping already-powerful corporations into financial and political powerhouses. The trend has taken particular hold among electric utilities, a sector where monopoly reigns virtually unchecked.
Consolidated, investor-owned utilities now have service territories that span several states and include millions of customers. They say gobbling competitors delivers operational efficiencies and cost savings. But who sees the benefits? And what are the unspoken costs?
This report explains how concentration of power in monopoly utilities delivers fewer customer benefits than alleged, and how the unmentioned costs of concentrating power in a few firms undermines protection of the public interest.… Read More
With the impending proposed merger of AT&T & Time Warner, E-Commerce Times reporter David Jones reached out to national broadband expert Christopher Mitchell on the impacts a merger of this size would have on broadband competition and overall market concentration.… Read More
Exelon, a monopoly electric utility and the nation’s largest nuclear power generator, made a $6.8 billion offer to purchase Pepco, Washington D.C.’s electric utility in April of 2014. Since then, they have swarmed across Pepco’s service area, getting the approval of federal regulators, state utility commissions, and shareholders. Washington D.C.’s Public Service Commission has, however, halted Exelon in its … Read More
Recent years have been record ones for mergers and acquisitions. While much of this concentration is invisible to most of us, its effects ripple throughout all areas of the economy.… Read More
Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and similar chain dollar stores are targeting vulnerable communities across the US. Our new report details these companies’ rapid expansion, the growing resistance, and the pressing need for federal policy interventions.
Read the report, and find all of our resources and reporting on chain dollar stores here.
