What do the antitrust people think about the Texas AG's lawsuit against the big asset managers for pressuring coal producers to reduce output, thus reducing competitive pressure www.bloomberg.com/news/article... - ThreadSky

weisenthal.bsky.social • 88 days ago

What do the antitrust people think about the Texas AG's lawsuit against the big asset managers for pressuring coal producers to reduce output, thus reducing competitive pressure https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-27/blackrock-vanguard-accused-of-violating-antitrust-law-by-texas

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driverinvestor.bsky.social•88 days ago

The aspect over the concentration of ownership violating the Sherman Act is quite something. Going beyond shareholder engagement and strategic collusion, they’re basically arguing that huge asset managers with huge index funds shouldn’t be allowed to exist at all (if I’m reading correctly).

weisenthal.bsky.social•88 days ago

Paxton claims that there was this ESG pressure on coal companies, and the coal companies couldn't resist it.

But also if it helped keep volume low, and prices up -- and shares of some of these companies have done well -- then why would the coal companies even want to resist it.

domby.bsky.social•88 days ago

Paxton not one the most upstanding law enforcement guys

finintheland.bsky.social•88 days ago

Also opened opportunity for more natural gas which has a lot of production in Texas ?!?

thefrugalbanker.bsky.social•88 days ago

himself.bsky.social•88 days ago

Back in the 19th century and early 20th century, coal producers used unionization for exactly this purpose https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tgdbyt3ylrad80mn4mw8n/bowman-1985-when-workers-organize-capitalists-the-case-of-the-bituminous-coal-industry.pdf?rlkey=lgkmklkkuuwurbru56db0gcbh&dl=0

weisenthal.bsky.social•88 days ago

that's fascinating

nvalvo.name•88 days ago

Strong argument for sectoral bargaining IMO

himself.bsky.social•88 days ago

Isn't it? It's not nearly as well known as it should be, in part I suspect because it scrambles so many ideological presuppositions.

clyons1.bsky.social•88 days ago

And just like then, it would be deeply unpopular, and against the GOP platform, for them to attack asset managers for forcing coal to “make too much money.” So they found an angle that gives them cover and is unpopular.

chinabore.bsky.social•86 days ago

it's a shame that the merit and glory of opposing the "passive" platform oligopoly falls to Paxton

nathantankus.bsky.social•87 days ago

The evidence looks extremely thin. They don't seem to be alleging any actions that would break their passivity so what it seems to amount to is voting yes on "pro-climate" shareholder resolutions which we have no evidence had much of an impact or would increase profitability if taken seriously.

nathantankus.bsky.social•87 days ago

It seems to me this is just partisan anti-ESG stuff and its "active" investors & stock traders who pushed these entities to pursue "price over volume" rather than ESG.

thatkindofparty.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think you should have an antitrust lawyer on and ask them. You may also want to consider the fact that it’s Ken Paxton you’re talking about.

ninaecon.bsky.social•88 days ago

I think this sort of scenario is important to highlight, and also adjacent to stories of state governments trying to make it harder for public sector employers' pension funds to purchase particular assets (like ESG). 'Markets bad' and 'Large firms bad' can miss a lot of nuance!

thefrugalbanker.bsky.social•88 days ago

Feels more like what the egg lobby did a few years back when they were fixing prices than pure anti-trust.

utexas-96.bsky.social•88 days ago

This pos mf sues anyone and everyone. He's literally a criminal and should be in jail.

egg.computer•88 days ago

In China, they call it "supply side structural reform." Xi Jinping himself tells you to do it.

paulriz504.bsky.social•88 days ago

Take a chart that shows the cost of nat gas and coal over time. Paxton needs to be suing the fracking industry in his own state if he has a problem with coal dying out.

pqsheedy.bsky.social•88 days ago

“When the president of Blackrock does it it isn’t a crime”

guybaddis.bsky.social•88 days ago

Hmmmm.

At what point would an investor class create a pseudo-monopoly?

Nominally independent companies, nominally independent shareholders, all owning 4%, say, of each company, all pressuring them the same way?

cuddlessmash.bsky.social•88 days ago

The size of the so-called economic pie for coal has been projected to shrink for some time (even/especially during trump's first term) so this is essentially consolidation in the face of worsening economic conditions both specific to their market and what they expect the market as a whole to look.

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