ANALYSIS: Securities Markets Face Scrutiny Under Antitrust Bill

Under the proposed Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act of 2021 (CALERA), conduct in regulated securities and commodities markets that has enjoyed a complete pass from antitrust scrutiny for decades would be subject to lawsuits seeking treble damages.

That could be a bigger shift than some are expecting. While much of the analysis of CALERA to date has focused on its likely impact on technology markets and merger enforcement, the potential impact on securities markets is profound. Financialization has meant that markets regulated by the securities acts have an outsized impact on the overall economy, and the impact of ...