There’s a fascinating short piece by Kurt Holdstedt at 99PercentInvisible on how taxes and regulations shape the architecture we associate with cities like Paris, Amsterdam, and more. (I also learned that those distinctive Parisian roofs are called “mansard roofs”.) The mansard … Read More
laws and regulations
To Groupon or Not to Groupon?
Groupon has taken the local deal market by storm, growing quickly to $2B in revenue (depending on how you define “revenue”). The local deals company has also created massive buzz and is now preparing for one of the largest IPOs … Read More
Value, pricing, and the TSA
I try to avoid political commentary, but sometimes I just can’t avoid it. The airline industry has always been a tough place to make money, but since 9/11, terrorism fears, long delays in security, and surging oil prices have really … Read More
Defying Economic Gravity on Home Prices
I’ve been trying hard not to get into politics, but let’s take a quick detour there and try to hurry back before we cause too much of a ruckus. For a short synopsis on the financial crises, see Scott Adams … Read More
How do you know your contract terms are unreasonable?
Tim Cummins, president of International Association for Contract and Commercial Management, recently wrote a post on his Commitment Matters blog about how courts had thrown out contracts related to software and cell phone contracts. While the court rulings, should they … Read More
French Court Rules Free Shipping Illegal
A French court ruled that Amazon’s free shipping policy violates a law that forbids booksellers from discounting more than 5% off list price. Rather than stopping the practice, Amazon has upped the ante, continuing the policy in the face of … Read More
Supreme Court Overturns Ban on Minimum Price Agreements
In a decision that will have profound pricing impact, the Supreme Court overturned a century-old ban on restrictive pricing clauses between manufacturers and distributors or retailers. In an ideologically divided 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that the practice of … Read More
Supreme Court Looks at Pricing Agreements
The United States Supreme Court has taken on a case involving the legality of minimum pricing agreements. A small retailer in Texas cut prices on womens’ fashion accessories in response to similar discounting by competitors. The manufacturer threatened to cut … Read More
Drug Pricing Changes Possible
It’s been a tough stretch for Big Pharma, which is getting a pricing beating from cheaper generic alternatives. Merck is offering big discounts on AIDS drug Efavirenz in Thailand, as Thailand considers producing generic versions of the patented medicine via … Read More
Oracle to Pay $98M Pricing Fine
Oracle agreed to pay a $98.5M fine, resulting from overcharging on government contracts by Oracle’s PeopleSoft subsidiary. (The overcharging took place before Oracle acquired PeopleSoft .) The government is always supposed to get the “best price”, but in some cases, … Read More