July 2007

Supreme Court Patent Decision Trickles Down Into Precedent

Lynne Kiesling Remember in the spring, when the Supreme Court decided in KSR v. Teleflex that courts should use more flexibility in determining whether new ideas are “obvious” and therefore not patentable? Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article discussing the ramifications of that decision (sub. required): “The Supreme Court has made it clear what …

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Competition + Technology = Business Model Innovation

Lynne Kiesling Recently I mentioned Zappo’s as an example of an innovative business model that defies preconceptions about consumer behavior. Here’s a coda to that observation: the success Zappo’s has seen has brought both imitation and innovation. Hello, perennial gale of creative destruction! Exhibit A: Endless, a new shoe and handbag site with free overnight …

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How Competitive Are Pjm’s Markets? Maryland Wants to Know

Michael Giberson Platts is reporting that the Maryland Public Service Commission is considering hiring an outside law firm to evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence of a lack of competitiveness in PJM’s power markets to bring a case before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [Maryland PSC chairman Steven] Larsen told Platts his agency believes that …

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FERC Presents Natural Gas Market Manipulation Claims Against Amaranth

Michael Giberson As noted here yesterday, FERC is taking action against Amaranth and its erstwhile energy trading star Brian Hunter for allegedly manipulating energy markets. FERC issued a show cause order, detailing the evidence collected and inviting Amaranth entities to explain why they should not be found in violation of Part 1c of the Commission’s …

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CFTC Files Suit: “Defendents Intended to Create Artificial Natural Gas Prices…”

Michael Giberson Earlier this week, the CFTC filed suit against Brian Hunter and Amaranth Advisors charging the company and its chief energy trader with attempted market manipulation and making false statements to the NYMEX. The CFTC has issued a press release, the complaint, and a two-page summary of the complaint. Skip the summary, all of …

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Economics, Energy, and the Environment

Lynne Kiesling I’m still out in Montana, attending a Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment conference on energy for federal judges and law professors. Today I’m talking about one of my favorite topics: prices to devices! So far I’ve learned a lot, including a very interesting presentation from University of Illinois professor Bob …

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Fed Official Says Market Adjustments Have Allowed Economic Growth Despite Higher Energy Prices

Michael Giberson In a speech yesterday, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole said, “The importance of recent energy developments is less than their high visibility leads many to believe.” The WSJ Real Time Economics blog further reports: “There are certainly strains from the high price of energy,” but “there is no energy …

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PJM’s Newly Ex-CEO: PJM Never Really Wanted a Market Monitor

Michael Giberson Yesterday, PJM Interconnection announced the sudden retirement of CEO Phillip Harris. In a press release, the PJM board stated: We are announcing that President Phillip G. Harris has elected to retire from PJM. We want to acknowledge Mr. Harris’ considerable contributions to PJM and our industry over his many years of service. Without …

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