Investors Business Daily Comments On Merger: Government Has Gone Too Far, Market Is Best Regulator
Too Much Static
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY, Posted 3/9/2007
Regulation: An executive has been hauled before government inquisitors simply because he is part of a high-profile private business transaction. In this case, as in so many others, the government has gone too far.
Satellite radio company Sirius has proposed to buy competitor XM Satellite Radio, and the two private-sector parties have agreed to the deal. But they will have to wait as lawmakers and bureaucrats satisfy their need to feel useful by forcing their way into the process and rivals seek protection from competition.
So far, Congress has called Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin to testify before the telecommunications subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. He's likely to go before the commerce committees of both congressional chambers as well.
The companies will also have to kneel before the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, both of which must approve of any deal before it can go through.
Opponents, mainly the National Association of Broadcasters, representing companies that have built multi-station empires through consolidations, say the deal will yield a monopoly and cause, in the words of the NAB CEO, "a headache for consumers."
At that, we're supposed to believe the NAB cares that a single satellite company would be free to increase subscriber fees. There are at least a couple of problems with the higher-rate theory....read more:
here3/10/2007 07:24:00 AM
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