Concerns about price fixing expressed
According to reports in The Standard and Bond Buyer and subsequently confirmed by the Department of Justice, its antitrust division is investigating possible antitrust violations in connection with several online bond trading platforms.
According to the reports, the antitrust division’s computer and finance section has sent Civil Investigative Demand letters to the BondDesk.com, Bond Book, Market Axxess, and perhaps other platforms. The DoJ concern apparently is that increased one-sided market transparency (i.e., buyer-to-buyer or seller-to-seller communication) could increase the possibilities of price-fixing. Civil Investigative Demand letters are said to result in enforcement actions about 40% of the time.
Although the Bond Buyer report is only available to subscribers, the report in The Standard is available online at http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,20464,00.html
Copyright 2000, John M. Baker, Esq., Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, LLP, 1220 19th Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 – (202) 822-9611- Fax (202) 822-0140 This article was originally posted to the FundLaw List, http://www.egroups.com/group/fundlaw. To subscribe to FundLaw, send a blank e-mail to fundlaw-subscribe@egroups.com
Nothing herein is intended as legal or financial advice. The law is different in different jurisdictions, and the facts of a particular matter can change the application of the law. Please consult an attorney or your financial advisor before acting upon the information contained in this article.
