AIG in Court, Mobile Phone Competition and the Future of Solar Power
A federal jury rules in favor of Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of AIG, in a $4.3 billion stock dispute.
The Department of Justice considers investigating telecom companies for antitrust violations in the mobile phone market.
A new report documents the continuing inability of solar panels to compete with electricity from traditional power plants.
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1. LEGAL
A federal jury rules in favor of Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of AIG, in a $4.3 billion stock dispute.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs John Berlau on Greenberg’s vindication:
“The jury’s verdict [yesterday] is the latest piece of evidence that much of AIG’s problems – and the systemic disruptions they have caused — can be traced to political meddling. Greenberg was forced out in 2005 because of baseless charges of accounting fraud by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Nearly all of Spitzer’s charges have been dismissed, but the mere allegations were enough to cause AIG’s board to force Greenberg out and to be replaced with a succession of caretaker CEOs more pleasing to politicians like Spitzer.”
2. BUSINESS
The Department of Justice considers investigating telecom companies for antitrust violations in the mobile phone market.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Regulatory Studies Fellow Ryan Young on why the worries over competition are misplaced:
“[An important antitrust issue for telecom companies] is networks making exclusive deals with equipment makers. If you want an iPhone, you have to use AT&T’s service. If you want a Blackberry Storm, you have to use Verizon. Smaller competitors allege that exclusive deals for coveted phones are shutting them out of the market. Antitrust enforcers tend to agree. I don’t – the iPhone has spawned more than 30 competing devices. And the iPhone itself has dropped in price from $500 to as low as $99. Where’s the lack of competition?”
3. ENERGY
A new report documents the continuing inability of solar panels to compete with electricity from traditional power plants.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on why the prospects for solar power are looking dim:
“Most importantly, there is a big problem with actually getting the things built. As mentioned above, sunlight requires a lot of collection, which in practice means a lot of space. That means that, even in the deserts, a huge amount of animal habitat is going to be destroyed, something that solar-loving environmentalists draw the line at. For instance, Senator Diane Feinstein of California has suggested plans for 12 solar plants in the Mojave Desert be scrapped because of their environmental impact. As Governor Schwarzenegger said in a speech at Yale, ‘If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave Desert, I don’t know where the hell we can put it.’”
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