| Experts suggest bidding for broadcasting licenses
Claiming it is the optimal mechanism to preserve diversity and plurality as to information, the joint judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia, Guillermo Puyana, suggested granting broadcasting licenses through public biddings. His proposal came following his speech at an international seminar taking place in Caracas called "Freedom of Expression in Democratic Societies."
When asked about President Hugo Chávez Government's threat not to renew a broadcasting license for private TV network RCTV, Puyana conceded the State has the capacity to renew licenses or not. However, he suggested that radiofrequencies should be subject to transparent and equitable biddings. "Regarding the issue of RCTV, if I was in a position to choose, I would rather open a bidding process (on the broadcasting license), in order to preserve information diversity."
.
Go Shopping Via Reverse Auctions
I've found myself in an interesting and illuminating loop lately. In February, I wrote an article offering some money-saving shopping tips. Good enough, right? Well, I quickly heard from some folks who offered me additional advice, especially about where to find great discounts and coupons online. So I then wrote about how to be a smart online shopper. And then -- you guessed it -- I heard from more folks. So here's my next installment, this time focused on ... (drumroll) reverse auctions. With traditional auctions, such as you'll find at eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), buyers bid on items, driving up the price until no one wants to bid anymore or the time runs out. With reverse auctions, an item's price starts out high, and then drops -- until someone buys it, ideally. This is similar to the "Dutch auction" concept, which Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) used for its IPO.
Wesfarmers faces Coles bidding war
COLES last night moved to warn shareholders to retain their shares in anticipation of a higher offer. The move came ahead of it opening its books to suitors tomorrow. The nation's second largest retailer said that Wesfarmers' cash offer, worth $16.47 a share, was not an offer that the Coles board would be prepared to recommend to its shareholders. "Until such time as Coles' ownership review has been completed and the Coles board has made a recommendation to shareholders, Coles shareholders are advised not to sell, or grant economic or voting interests over, their shares," the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, Wesfarmers' first-mover advantage has failed to pay off, with all bidders who have signed confidentiality agreements able to enter the room as soon as tomorrow.
Mammoth skeleton up for auction
On Monday, Christie's auction house in Paris, which usually sells fine art and furniture, is hosting an unusual auction of paleontological curiosities, including several prehistoric mammals. Skeletons of a 10,000-year-old, 13.5-foot-long rhinoceros and a 7.5-foot-high cave bear are also going under the hammer. The skeletons are owned by a private collector, but buyers may include museums or artists, said Christie's spokeswoman Capucine Milliot. The auction is not to all paleontologists' liking. Pascal Tassy, professor at Paris' Natural History Museum, has decried the selling off of specimens that could be useful to science. "It is a pernicious consequence of the Jurassic Park effect," he said. "In the past, private collectors donated to museums, it was a great time of patronage.
|
