If a state-owned port is sold at a higher price with competition restrictions, consumers will pay higher prices in the future because of these restrictions.
AAP/Martin Philbey
State governments are now seeking to maximise the price of privatised assets by adding sale terms that restrict competition for the future private owners. That amounts to a hidden tax on consumers.
If done poorly, competition law can actually reduce competition.
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The debate over two words in Australian competition law could lead to an anti-competitive future for Australian businesses.
Fined.
AA jhr/flickr
Starbucks and Fiat must each pay up to €30m in tax repayments after the EU competition commissioner, Margarethe Vestager, ruled deals they made with the Netherlands and Luxembourg counted as unlawful state…
Why do Asian children perform so well at maths?
www.shutterstock.com
Memorising facts and completing drills is likely to improve your maths skills – just so long as you find a way to stay motivated.
Bipartisan support for the competition review reforms could help Australia’s transition away from a mining-led economy.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
The proposed changes to Australia’s competition regime make sense, and deserve bipartisan support.
Understanding how evolution affects behaviour can help address societal problems.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
Evolution also does not claim humans evolved from primates. Neither does it say non-human primates, including monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees and gorillas, will evolve into humans with time.
The snail’s pace of switching between Australian banks deserves attention.
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More robust competition between banks would benefit consumers, but there’s little policy focus on the issue.
Amendments to South Africa’s competition law provides more scrutiny of pricing practices in oligopolistic markets.
Shutterstock
South Africa’s tightening up of its competition law enables it to punish collusive conduct by firms, but there are major obstacles to implementing the changes.
Fans cheer during The International Dota 2 Championships in Seattle, Washington earlier this month.
Jason Redmond/Reuters
The US$17 million prize pool at The International Dota 2 Championships shows how much the industry has grown over the past decade.
The UK’s Chris Froome dons the yellow jersey as he whips around a turn during the 17th stage of the 102nd Tour de France.
Eric Gaillard/Reuters
Even before this year’s race began, only five or six riders had any real chance of winning.
Big can be beautiful for Australia’s retail giants.
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Some say the only way to smash the Coles/Woolworths duopoly is more regulation and a consumer backlash, but this assumes all power is used for evil.
Lock and load.
enigmabadger
An EU court has ruled that Lego’s iconic mini-figures are a protected trademark and so cannot be copied. Here’s why.
Woolworths chief Grant O'Brien will step down, but not before a replacement is found.
Dan Peled/AAP
The hubris on show at Woolworths was never sustainable, and as a result CEO Grant O'Brien will join more than 1,000 employees losing their job.
Is the NHS ‘a wretched bowl of alphabetti spaghetti’, as David Cameron put it?
James
The paradox of competition and integration other key challenges facing the re-appointed health secretary.
Economist Ian Harper has recommended changes to the misuse of market power provisions in Australian competition law.
Mark Graham/AAP
Unless key words are clarified proposed changes to Australian competition law could actually harm competition.
The Harper Review should focus attention on planning and zoning reform as a crucial way of improving competition.
Flickr/Theen Moy
The main question to ask of the Harper report is: what will make a tangible difference to our economic prosperity?
Neutrality in style and substance.
mindscanner/Shutterstock
The need for net neutrality regulations in the US speaks volumes about competition in the land of the free market.
Rubbish for consumers?
Ruslan Grumble / www.shutterstock.com
They’re meant to give customers the best deals out there, but price comparison websites can increase prices people end up paying.
Boxed in. Royal Mail rivals are knocking on the door.
Post Box
Those of us with experience working in former state monopoly sectors such as trains, aviation and telecoms as they transition into a less regulated environment, know only too well the challenge of change…
Time for an unbundling?
Mark Knol
Google’s operations in Europe have come under fire recently, with the UK proposing new corporate tax reforms that are being dubbed a “Google tax” for targeting the multi-national. And this follows hot…