The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. LEGAL

An arbitrator is expected to rule today [2] on a lawsuit brought by major tobacco companies against states participating in the multi-state master settlement agreement (MSA), to reduce their payments to states if their market share falls more than 2 percent.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Communications Christine Hall-Reis [3] on the constitutionality of the master settlement agreement [4].

2. ENERGY

Crude oil prices rose by 15 cents to above $64 a barrel on Monday [5] amid concerns over the political situations in Iran and Nigeria and the upcoming hurricane season.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy Myron Ebell [6] on why talk of America being “addicted to oil” is misguided [7].

3. BUSINESS

A privately built rocket crashed and burned as it attempted to take off [8] seconds into its maiden launch. Yet this should only be a temporary setback to private space flight—if government regulators don’t get in the way.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: General Counsel Sam Kazman [9] and Objectivist Center Executive Director Edward Hudgins on how deregulation has helped private space flight—and could do the same for other industries [10].

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To contact a CEI expert for comment or interviews, please call the CEI communications department at 202-331-2271 or email to pubs@cei.org [11].