DOCSLIB.ORG

The Making of a Transatlantic Market in Metals, 1870-1930

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Making of a Transatlantic Market in Metals, 1870-1930 COPPER CAPITALISM: THE MAKING OF A TRANSATLANTIC MARKET IN METALS, 1870-1930 by NATHAN DELANEY Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY April 2018 ii Copyright © Nathan Delaney All rights reserved. iii CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the dissertation of Nathan Delaney, candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy*. Committee Chair David Hammack Committee Member Kenneth Ledford Committee Member John Flores Committee Member David Clingingsmith February 23, 2018 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. iv CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi ABSTRACT viii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. THE FIRST GLOBAL COPPER ECONOMY 33 The Origins of the LME and Metallgesellschaft CHAPTER 2. THE DEFEAT OF A COPPER CARTEL, 1887-1889 69 Secrétan, Rothschild, and the London Metal Traders CHAPTER 3. THE TRANSATLANTIC COPPER, 1890-1914 105 Metallgesellschaft in America and Europe CHAPTER 4. THE COPPER TRADE DURING THE WAR YEARS 142 Shifting from Markets to Hierarchy CHAPTER 5. THE POST WAR COPPER TRADE 176 The Arrival of Big Business in Copper CONCLUSION 203 BIBLIOGRAPHY 206 v LIST OF TABLES PAGE 1.1 Germany, US, and UK Real Copper Prices, 1870-1887 40 1.2 German Copper Production and Consumption, 1879-1890 41 1.3 Copper Supply in Great Britain, 1854-1884 44 1.4 US Foreign Trade Balance in Unmanufactured Copper, 1864-1882 57 1.5 Nominal (%) Difference NY and London, 1870-1880 58 1.6 US Copper Production, 1875-1887 65 2.1 LME Copper Spot and Futures Prices, 1880-1890 81 2.2 Copper Stocks of Britain and France, 1887-88 89 2.3 London Price, Backwardation 1887-1889 100 2.4 Metallgesellschaft Net Earnings, 1881-1910 101 3.1 Concentration of Mine Ownership, 1890-1912 108 3.2 LME Spot Copper, 1890-1900 126 3.3 Copper Consumption Leaders, 1892-1913 138 5.1 Anaconda Assets and Net Earnings, 1920-1932 183 5.2 US, Germany, GB, Fr Copper Consumption Per Capita, 1921-1929 186 5.3 US Copper Consumption by Industry, 1921-1929 186 5.4 LME Copper Price, 1926-1930 193 5.5 LME Price Spreads, 1926-1930 193 5.6 Top 5 Copper Companies Assets and Profits, 1927-29 194 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have many people to thank who helped me finish this dissertation. Within the history department at Case Western Reserve, I must first thank four people who have given me so much of their time and sound advice. David Hammack, my Doktorvater, taught me the virtues of being a splitter, not a lumper. He also stressed the importance of historical context and the role of intuitions at a time when such concepts were out of fashion. Ken Ledford, was a mentor and Betreuer of the highest caliber. I owe him a great deal for his encouragement to explore the intersections of German and American history. John Flores also taught me the value of transnational interpretations of the past, and importance of leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of truth. David Clingingsmith of the CWRU Economics Department was gracious with his time and gave me very useful criticism that made the dissertation much stronger as a result. So many others in the department and around the campus supported me both financially and socially and made coming to work a pleasure. Walking down from the Heights to campus, putting my lunch in the fridge and chatting with John Broich about the craft of history or work out routines was always a great way to start the day. Running into Alan Rocke, Jay Geller, Ted Steinberg, Peter Shulman, or Mariam Levin often resulted in laughs and lessons. John Grabowski is a Cleveland institution and taught me a great deal about the rich history of my adopted city. My graduate colleagues were a joy to be around – dull moments were rare. Thank you, E.P Miller, Corey Hazlett, Sam Duncan, John Baden, and vii Jon Kinser for your insights and recommendations. Scotty really did not know. God bless Mike Metsner for putting up with all my jokes and bullshit in the ECH office – an office we appropriated for many years (thank you John Grabowski for not kicking us out!). I owe Jesse Tarbert big time for reviewing so many course essays, journal articles, and thesis chapters. Jess will always be an intellectual advisor and a great friend. Outside of Cleveland, I have dozens to thank. Todd Michney who taught me how the game works. Todd is a true professional and an innovative thinker. Thanks to Sebastian Conrad of the Free University Berlin for sponsoring my DAAD Research Grant application. Thank you to Hartmut Berghoff for the opportunity to work at the GHI Washington DC as a research fellow. Thanks to Tim Rupli for housing me in DC while I was researching there. Helping out on the Hill was a pleasure, so were the great hunting adventures in MD and VA on the weekends. Thank you to the archivists all over North America and Europe who gave me money, time, and advice. Special mention to the staff at the Hessisches Wirtschaftarchiv at Darmstadt where the Metallgesellschaft business papers are housed. Also thank you to the excellent legal and archival staff at Freeport McMoRan for permitting me to review the American Metal Company records. Most importantly, thank you to my family for all their support over the years. Above all thank you to the love of my life, my wife and best friend, Maureen. viii Copper Capitalism: The Making of a Transatlantic Market in Metals, 1870-1930 Abstract by NATHAN DELANEY THE FOLLOWING DISSERTATION analyzes the development of the transatlantic copper market at a time when copper was a key ingredient of the second Industrial Revolution (1870-1930). Its findings suggest that international metal trading companies (in conjunction with the London Metal Exchange) functioned to effectively check oligopolistic efforts by large copper producers during an era when other producer industries like oil and steel came to be defined by such competition. Time and time again, dominant producers of copper (e.g., Anaconda, ASARCO, and Rio Tinto) sought ways to manipulate supply and prices to their advantage, and time and time again, nimble trading firms – most notable among them Metallgesellschaft – were well positioned to undermine such anticompetitive efforts, and profit in the process. More than just a capitalist game of cat and mouse, the producer v. trader struggle over profits and copper supply is a novel insight as it explains why cartels and monopoly-minded firms struggle to achieve super-normal profits when subjected to the competitive dynamics of futures markets. While the intense competition emanating outward from the London Metal Exchange defined the state of the copper trade through 1914, economic nationalist policies and increased vertical integration in the industry allowed American producer’s to wrestle control of the trade from the ix international dealers, which ultimately fed concerns of mineral insecurity among European nations by the 1930s. 1 INTRODUCTION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, this work engages a fundamental economic question related to international trade and market organization, namely how are commodities like copper, which are vital to economic progress and human welfare, best distributed? The following case study of copper between the mid- nineteenth century and World War II offers an example in which a public, relatively open market proved more effective than the vertically-integrated corporation. The chapters to follow will show how this was so in each of several distinct periods, and will offer an explanation of the reasons why the copper market and its firms developed as they did at the times they did. In pursuit of this goal, the dissertation analyzes the industry as it expanded in the world’s three largest economies, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. It does so, through the lens of the most influential multinational metal trading company at the time, Metallgesellschaft A.G. Since the commencement of Industrial Revolution, modern western states have come to rely on a diverse and ever increasing supply of commodities. Atop the list of durable commodities most important to the first industrial revolution were undoubtedly coal, iron, timber, wheat, and cotton. Such goods were essential inputs for manufacturing groups at the fore of the industrialization process. With the development of electric power and advancements in communication and transportation technologies, the list of commodities needed 2 to sustain this development grew to include the likes of steel, petroleum, rubber, and copper.1 In order to gain and maintain access to needed commodities, many nations relied on merchant-traders to develop supply chains linking producers with consumers from around the world. Throughout the nineteenth century, the largest consumer markets for these materials were in the Western Europe.2 By 1870, European demand began to outpace domestic, regional supply. While some commodities such as coal, iron ore, zinc, and bauxite could be produced from Continental sources at significant scale, other raw materials had to be imported from abroad. Some European states – most notoriously Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany – overcame certain raw material shortcomings through conquest and colonization.3 However, not all materials were gotten through colonization. In many instances, supply chains were sustained through liberal trade among nations on 1 Steven C. Topik and A. Wells, Global Markets Transformed (Harvard University Press, 2014). 2 Most notably the economies of Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The US was the largest consumer of raw materials, but collectively, Western Europe took in more. Jan De Vries, The Industrious Revolution: Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy, 1650 to the Present Cambridge University Press, 2008).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Guppy Color Strains
    Guppy Color Strains Guppy Color Strains Philip Shaddock Third Edition June 2012 v | Table of Contents Guppy Color STrains | v Guppy Color Strains © 2000 - 2012 Philip Shaddock This book is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part. If you wish to quote more than a few lines from the book or use any of its fig- ures, graphics or images, please contact Philip Shaddock through the Guppy Designer website: www.guppydesigner.com. If you find inaccuracies or mistakes in the book, please contact Philip Shaddock through the Guppy Designer site. Your help would be very much appreciated. Contact Philip Shaddock at: www.guppydesigner.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-0-9865700-0-1 v | Table of Contents Guppy Color STrains | v Contents Preface 13 1 Moscows 17 The Moscow in the Rest of the World . 18 Moscow Color and Genetics . 19 Breeding the Moscow . 21 Blue Moscow . 23 Albino Blue Moscow . 24 Blond Blue Moscow . 24 Asian Blau Blue Moscow . 25 Golden Blue Moscow . 26 Green Moscow . 27 Purple Moscow . 27 Full Red Moscow . 28 Half-Black Red Moscow . 29 Albino Full Red Moscow . 30 Golden Red Moscow . 31 Midnight Black Moscow . 31 Albino Midnight Black . 33 Golden Midnight Black . 34 Half Black Moscow . 34 Stoerzbach Moscow . 36 Pink White Moscow . 37 vivii | Table of Contents Guppy Color STrains | viivi Full Gold Moscow . 38 Blue Grass Moscow . 39 Leopard (Grass) Moscow . 40 Carnation Moscow . 41 Moscow Fire Tail . 43 WREA Full Pearl Moscow . 43 2 Metal Heads 45 Cobra Metal Heads .
    [Show full text]
  • July 2009 1663 Los Alamos Science and Technology Magazine July 2009 the Complicated Network of Transmission a Very Chilly –300°F, to Become Superconducting
    loslos alamos alamos science science and and technology technology magazine magazine JUJULYLY 20 20 09 09 Wired for the Future Cyber Wars Have SQUIDs, Will Travel 1663 A Trip to Nuclear North Korea About Our Name: during World War ii, all that the 1663outside world knew of los alamos and its top-secret table of contents laboratory was the mailing address—P. o. Box 1663, santa Fe, new mexico. that box number, still part of our address, symbolizes our historic role in the nation’s from terry wallace service. PrINcIPaL aSSocIatE DIrEctor For ScIENcE, tEchNoLogy, aND ENgINEErINg located on the high mesas of northern new mexico, los alamos national laboratory was founded in 1943 to build the first atomic bomb. it remains a premier scientific laboratory, dedicated to national security in its broadest the Scientist Envoy INSIDE FroNt coVEr sense. the laboratory is operated by los alamos national security, llc, for the department of energy’s national nuclear security administration. features About the Cover: artist’s conception of a hacker’s “trojan horse,” in cyberspace. los alamos fights an mosArchive unending battle against trojan horses, worms, and la other forms of malicious software but is spearheading LosA research to play offense rather than defense in the Wired for the Future 2 During the Manhattan Project, Enrico Fermi, Nobel Laureate and leader of SUPErcoNDUctINg WIrES MIght traNSForM ENErgy DIStrIBUtIoN ongoing cyber wars. F-Division, meets with San Ildefonso Pueblo’s Maria Martinez, famous worldwide for her extraordinary black pottery. from terry wallace cyber Wars The Scientist Envoy 6 thE UNENDINg BATTLE For coNtroL Since the middle of the His direct experience with both plutonium metallurgy nineteenth century and the and international diplomacy have allowed him to days of Mendeleev, Darwin, communicate with the North’s weapons scientists, Pasteur, and Maxwell, obtain accurate information about the country’s scientists have helped to plutonium capabilities, and report his findings to the have SQUIDs, Will travel 12 better society.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific Support for Successful Implementation of the Natura 2000 Network
    Scientific support for successful implementation of the Natura 2000 network Focus Area B Guidance on the application of existing scientific approaches, methods, tools and knowledge for a better implementation of the Birds and Habitat Directives Environment FOCUS AREA B SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT FOR SUCCESSFUL i IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATURA 2000 NETWORK Imprint Disclaimer This document has been prepared for the European Commis- sion. The information and views set out in the handbook are Citation those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the Van der Sluis, T. & Schmidt, A.M. (2021). E-BIND Handbook (Part B): Scientific support for successful official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not implementation of the Natura 2000 network. Wageningen Environmental Research/ Ecologic Institute /Milieu guarantee the accuracy of the data included. The Commission Ltd. Wageningen, The Netherlands. or any person acting on the Commission’s behalf cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information Authors contained therein. Lead authors: This handbook has been prepared under a contract with the Anne Schmidt, Chris van Swaay (Monitoring of species and habitats within and beyond Natura 2000 sites) European Commission, in cooperation with relevant stakehold- Sander Mücher, Gerard Hazeu (Remote sensing techniques for the monitoring of Natura 2000 sites) ers. (EU Service contract Nr. 07.027740/2018/783031/ENV.D.3 Anne Schmidt, Chris van Swaay, Rene Henkens, Peter Verweij (Access to data and information) for evidence-based improvements in the Birds and Habitat Kris Decleer, Rienk-Jan Bijlsma (Guidance and tools for effective restoration measures for species and habitats) directives (BHD) implementation: systematic review and meta- Theo van der Sluis, Rob Jongman (Green Infrastructure and network coherence) analysis).
    [Show full text]
  • LME Presentation for ALFED
    LME presentation for ALFED Oscar Wehtje, Head of Product Development September 2015 Agenda • Introduction to the LME • Hedging concepts • Warehouse reforms and pricing impacts • New LME products and services – Focus on the LME Premium Aluminium contracts • Questions • Ring tour (4:30 – 5:00 pm) • Refreshments 1 Introduction to the LME 2 The London Metal Exchange LME was established in 1877 in response to industrial revolution • High metal consumption relying on imports from abroad • The need to hedge risk of price fluctuations during long shipping voyages • Shipping of Copper from Chile and Tin from Malaysia took three months to arrive in London LME was acquired by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) in December 2012 3 The London Metal Exchange New contracts have been added to the initial Copper and Tin, over the past ~100 years 1877 1920 1978 1979 1992 2002 2008 2010 2015 Copper Lead & Primary Nickel Aluminium NASAAC Steel Billet Cobalt & Aluminium & Tin Zinc Aluminium Alloy Molybdenum Premiums & Ferrous suite 4 LME Volumes • LME trading represents c. 80% of the global exchange traded base metals volume • In 2014 a total of 177.2 million lots were traded (3.5% increase vs. 2013) – $14.9 trillion notional value, or – 4 billion tonnes of metal LME trading volume, 2002 – 2014 5 Primary services of the LME 1 2 3 Pricing Hedging Delivery Terminal Market Price Convergence 6 Hedging concepts 7 Exchange – LME pricing LME prices reflect the material activities of the market Supply & Robust demand Regulated LME prices Daily Trans- Trusted parent
    [Show full text]
  • Terminology of Retail Pricing
    Terminology of Retail Pricing Retail pricing terminology defined for “Calculating Markup: A Merchandising Tool”. Billed cost of goods: gross wholesale cost of goods after deduction for trade and quantity discounts but before cash discounts are calculated; invoiced cost of goods Competition: firms, organizations or retail formats with which the retailer must compete for business and the same target consumers in the marketplace Industry: group of firms which offer products that are identical, similar, or close substitutes of each other Market: products/services which seek to satisfy the same consumer need or serve the same customer group Cost: wholesale, billed cost, invoiced cost charged by vendor for merchandise purchased by retailer Discounts: at retail, price reduction in the current retail price of goods (i.e., customer allowance and returns, employee discounts) Customer Allowances and Returns: reduction, usually after the completion of sale, in the retail price due to soiled, damaged, or incorrect style, color, size of merchandise Employee Discounts: reduction in price on employee purchases; an employee benefit and incentive for employee to become familiar with stock Discounts: at manufacturing level, a reduction in cost allowed by the vendor Cash Discount: predetermined discount percentage deductible from invoiced cost or billed cost of goods on invoice if invoice is paid on or before the designated payment date Quantity Discount: discount given to retailer based on quantity of purchase bought of specific product classification or
    [Show full text]
  • Enhancement of Udc Data for Use and Sharing in A
    Enhancement of UDC data for use and sharing in a networked environment: [presentation at the Librarian Workshop in conjunction with "The 31st Annual Conference of the German Classification Society on Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Applications", March 7-9, 2007, Freiburg i. Br., Germany] Item Type Presentation Authors Slavic, Aida; Cordeiro, Maria Inês; Riesthuis, Gerhard Citation Enhancement of UDC data for use and sharing in a networked environment: [presentation at the Librarian Workshop in conjunction with "The 31st Annual Conference of the German Classification Society on Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Applications", March 7-9, 2007, Freiburg i. Br., Germany] 2007, Download date 02/10/2021 10:10:37 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/105770 Librarian Workshop 8 March 2007 The 31st Annual Conference of the German Classification Society on Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Applications, March 7-9, 2007, Freiburg i. Br., Germany ENHANCEMENT OF UDC DATA FOR USE AND SHARING IN A NETWORKED ENVIRONMENT Aida Slavic Maria Ines Cordeiro Gerhard Riesthuis MAIN POINTS UDC facts update Logic behind the synthetic structure UDC number building and authority control Improvement of data Data development roadmap UNIVERSAL DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION (UDC) classification system created to support • detailed document indexing in bibliographies • broad collocation of subject vocabulary – current database “UDC MRF - Master Reference File” contains 67.600 classes covers the whole universe of knowledge hierarchical, analytico-synthetic,
    [Show full text]
  • Request for Exemptive Relief
    Katten 525 W. Monroe Street Chicago, lL 60661-3693 3i2.go2.5200 tel 3iz.goz.io6i fax ARTHURW. HAHN arthur.hahn Okattenlaw.com 312.902.5241 direct 312.577.8892 fax December 24,2008 Ms. Florence E. Harmon Acting Secretary Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549 Re: Request for Exemptive Relief Dear Ms. Harmon: The market for credit derivatives, and in particular, credit default swaps ("CDSs") has grown exponentially over the past decade.' As this market has grown, the need for operational improvements in the clearing and settlement process has also grown, including the need for a strong central counterparty clearinghouse for these products.2 LFFE Administration and Management ("LIFFE A&M) has developed and makes available to its members an over-the- counter ("OTC") derivatives processing service, called Bclear (referred to herein as "Bclear" or the "Bclear Service"), that will provide a mechanism for the processing and centralized clearing of CDSs based on credit default swap indices ("Index CDSS").~ The Bclear Service processes OTC transactions and submits them for clearance to LCH.Clearnet Ltd. ("LCH.Clearnet"), which stands as the central counterparty to all transactions processed through c clear.^ LIFFE A&M began processing Index CDSs through Bclear on 1 The Bank for International Settlements estimated that the notional amount of outstanding CDSs in 1998 was approximately $108 billion. By 2007, that number had grown to approximately $58 trillion. Bank for International Settlements, Press Release, The Global Derivatives Market at End-June 2001, December 20, 2001, and Bank for International Settlements Monetary and Economic Department, OTC Derivatives Market Activity in the Second Half of 2007, May 2008 2 The President's Working Group on Financial Markets included in its recommendations the need to enhance the operational infrastructure for the OTC derivatives markets.
    [Show full text]
  • Stereoscope and View Offer
    M - jN-- - lfr S- - M -- SHE NATlUJSAi IKIBUJXIS WASHINGTON D a THURSDAY JANUARY 31 1907 force of setting a nail and pounding it New Mexico Speaker Cannon and Sen- ¬ satisfied with him Mr Shonts retained NEW BLOOD IN SENATE gently day by day year by year till he THE ISTHMIAN CANAL ¬ ME got ators Frye Halefrnd Blackburn were his Presidency of the Clover Leaf Rail How the Deaf it in to the head Curtis is not a members of tW House when he was road which the President did not alto ¬ full blooded Indian as has been said He declined a third election to Con ¬ gether approve Furthermore Mr but is thi son of the late Capt Curtis gress from New Mexico He was a Chief Shontss idea of digging the canal seem ¬ Are -- Engineer Sfaontss Resignation Wel Made That August Body Undergoing Some Striking Changes Result a veteran of the war of the rebellion member tlR Republican ed Washington to Hear an Indian of National to be a life of ease in and mother His mothers Committee for 121 years from 1875 to comedHe was Not Wholly Satisfac- ¬ for the Commission Chairman with cf the Elections So Far 1S87 and he conducted the Blaine cam- ¬ plenty of society for his wife and yuSSer from defective hearing paign In 1884 tory to the President and Secretary write to GEO P WAY of Detroit who Tiln 192 he was made daughters Mrs Shonts and the two lor twenty flve years was so deaf Secretary of Wan by President Harri- ¬ Misses Shonts from Europe a no was Dractlrtiiv it t that Taft Fnjineer Stevens More Accept ¬ returned son serving In thaiCabinet to the close few months ago
    [Show full text]
  • Media Workshop Introduction to The
    7 June 2016 MEDIA WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION TO THE LME Trevor Spanner Chief Operating Officer Group Risk Officer Agenda 1 History, Purpose and Workings of the London Metal Exchange 2 LME Contracts and Prompt date structure 3 LME Warehousing and Reform 4 LMEshield 5 LME Liquidity Roadmap 6 Clearing 7 Conclusion 2 Agenda 1 History, Purpose and Workings of the London Metal Exchange 2 LME Contracts and Prompt date structure 3 LME Warehousing and Reform 4 LMEshield 5 LME Liquidity Roadmap 6 Clearing 7 Conclusion 3 London Metal Exchange From 1877 to today The origins of LME goes back even further… 1. Origins in The Royal Exchange, London from 1571 2. The Jerusalem Coffee House, Cornhill, London early 1800 3. The London Metals and Mining Co. 1877 (Initial metals: Copper and Tin) Originate from the need to formalise trading into one market place with: • fixed trading times • standard contracts specifications • source of price ‘discovery’ 4 The London Metal Exchange New contracts have been added to the initial Copper and Tin, over the past ~100 years 1877 1920 1978 1979 1992 2002 2008 2010 2015 Copper Lead & Primary Nickel Aluminium NASAAC Steel Billet Cobalt & Aluminium & Tin Zinc Aluminium Alloy Molybdenum Premiums & Ferrous suite Each year, the exchange reviews its contracts and looks to launch new products to meet the needs of the industry. 5 LME Volumes 2002 - 2015 In 2015, 169.6 million lots, down 4.3% from 2014, $11.9 trillion and 3.8 billion tonnes 6 LME Average Daily Turnover 670,189 lots on average per day in 2015 7 The LME is the leading
    [Show full text]
  • Brief for the United States in Opposition: U.S. V. Apple, Inc., Et
    No. 15-565 In the Supreme Court of the United States APPLE, INC., PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ET AL. ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES IN OPPOSITION DONALD B. VERRILLI, JR. Solicitor General Counsel of Record WILLIAM J. BAER Assistant Attorney General SONIA PFAFFENROTH Deputy Assistant Attorney General KRISTEN C. LIMARZI ROBERT B. NICHOLSON DAVID SEIDMAN SHANA WALLACE Attorneys Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 [email protected] (202) 514-2217 QUESTION PRESENTED Whether the court of appeals correctly held that petitioner had violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1, by orchestrating and participating in a per se unlawful horizontal price-fixing conspiracy. (I) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Opinions below .............................................................................. 1 Jurisdiction .................................................................................... 1 Statute involved ............................................................................ 2 Statement ...................................................................................... 2 Argument ..................................................................................... 14 Conclusion ................................................................................... 33 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases: American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, 560 U.S. 183 (2010).............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Gsco-Notice-On-Interest-And-Funding-Policy-Updates.Pdf
    Dear Listed Derivatives Customer, We are writing to inform you of certain changes with respect to your Listed Derivatives accounts at Goldman Sachs. We are making the following changes to align our interest policies with those of the clearinghouses where we act as an agent on your behalf. Applicable changes will be reflected in the next interest posting date in early July. We are decommissioning LDR as an interest benchmark and replacing it with more widely available benchmarks on select currencies. Please see Attachment A for a listing of the benchmarks we will be utilizing. Certain clearinghouses levy a custodial fee on securities posted to cover initial margin. Please see Attachment B (CCP Custody Fee) for applicable clearinghouses and their respective fees which will be passed through to your account. Note, we will optimize the allocation for those clients posting both cash and securities. LCH interest charges are passed through to clearing members by way of their LDR benchmark (see link: http://www.lchclearnet.com/fees/ltd/custody_services.asp). These costs vary by currency and are reflected in Attachment B (CCP Interest Alignment) as a 25bps surcharge to any LCH initial margin cash balances. Attachment A Attachment B We value and appreciate your continued business. As always, if you have any questions regarding this notice please contact your representative. Kind regards, Goldman Sachs Listed Derivatives Note: For retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), this information and the attachments are provided pursuant to the disclosure requirements under Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA and supplements the document titled “Service Provider Disclosure for Goldman, Sachs & Co.
    [Show full text]
  • Guaranteeing High Prices by Guaranteeing the Lowest Price
    Guaranteeing High Prices by Guaranteeing the Lowest Price MATTHEW C. CORCORAN* Many businesses in a wide variety of fields have instituted low price guarantees as a competitive tactic. A low price guarantee is a promise by a business to match the prices of its competitors. This Note explores the competitive effect of low price guarantees and determines that their effect is ambiguous. The author then argues that even if the low price guarantees are anti-competitive, the antitrust laws do not prohibit their use. Finally, it discusses possible legislative solutions to the potential problems caused by low price guarantees. I. INTRODUCTION Most Americans are familiar with low price guarantees.1 Contrary to conventional wisdom,2 however, low price guarantees actually may result in * B.A., University of Michigan, 2000; J.D., The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, 2004 (expected). 1 Circuit City, an electronics retailer, makes the following guarantee: “If you’ve seen a lower advertised price from a local store with the same item in stock, we want to know about it. Bring it to our attention, and we’ll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference.” Price Match Guarantee, at http://www.circuitcity.com/cs_contentdisplay.jsp?c=1&b=g&incat= 52608#match (last visited Sept. 16, 2003). Circuit City further guarantees “[e]ven after your Circuit City purchase, if you see a lower advertised price (including our own sale prices) within 30 days, we’ll refund 110 % of the difference.” Id.; see also Low Price Guarantee, at http://www.thegoodguys.com/price_pop.asp (last visited Sept.
    [Show full text]