CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. TECHNOLOGY
Antitrust regulators take additional time to review the proposed purchase by Google of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Policy Analyst Cord Blomquist on the attention the deal has generated from regulators so far:
“There are no concrete legal reasons to oppose this move by Google. The acquisition would actually make the market more competitive by allowing Google to compete with Yahoo in image-based advertising. As is the case with most criticism of acquisitions, facts and economic reality hardly influence regulators and Congress.”
2. BUSINESS
Consumers decry the Bush administration’s proposed bailout of subprime mortgage borrowers.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on who’s to blame for the mortgage shakeup:
“…in most cases, the mortgage lenders not only are innocent of the predatory practices borrowers complain about but also are feeling the pain right along with them. These lenders do not revel in the current circumstances. A lender typically loses about a third of its loan value through foreclosure; thus, no lender (or mortgage-backed securities marketer) has an incentive to make or purchase a loan it genuinely believes a borrower cannot pay.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
Pope Benedict XVI warns against alarmist global warming theories.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray responds to global warming comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury:
“There is a terrible opportunity cost to drastic action to reduce climate change, and that cost would likely weigh heavier on the world’s poor than the effects of global warming itself. Wealthier is healthier, and richer is cleaner. Limiting economic activity can have a dramatic impact on quality of life. Even ‘baby steps’ towards emissions reduction could result in the deaths of more people in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />U.S. than global warming would worldwide.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
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