Supermarket Merger

This US survey examines: The FTC is opposed to Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons. Critics argue that with sufficient divestitures, the deal would be consistent with past FTC policies; (a) Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons would lead to substantially higher grocery prices and/or lower product quality/services for their customers (b) Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons would have a substantially negative effect on the two companies’ workers; (c) The public interest would be better served if antitrust policy were changed so that when a proposed merger means a market will reach a certain level of concentration, the onus is on the merging parties to show that consumers and workers will not be harmed.

Shifting the burden of municipal property taxes towards land and away from improvements such as buildings - as proposed in the Detroit land value tax plan - will enhance the incentives for owners to develop their land and thereby give a substantial boost to local economic growth over a ten-year horizon.

This Finance survey examines (a) The Federal Reserve has begun quantitative tightening (QT) to reduce the size of its balance sheet. Fed holdings of Treasury securities have declined by $800 billion relative to the March 2020 peak. The Fed currently holds $4.9 trillion of Treasury securities, significantly larger than the $2.5 trillion holdings prior to the Covid pandemic. A reduction in Fed holdings of Treasury securities measurably increases the interest rate on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds (b) A reduction in Fed holdings of Treasury securities measurably increases volatility in the Treasury market