Following the previous discussion about the problematic post-graduate admission system. Fudan University (FDU)’s School of Management announced the students who defaulted their offers FDU university annouced the name and their undergraduate affiliation of the students who defaulted their offer. (translated version) original archived here. original link. It happens every year, everywhere. FDU chose to list the students as a threat but it doesn’t seem to work well because the list of name grows longer year by year…...

Listen to the song, and let’s welcome October to join us! When September Ends

China’s higher education system features a unique postgraduate enrollment mechanism known as “recommendation for postgraduate studies,” or “保研” (Bao-Yan) in Chinese. This system has evolved into a complex game between students and university admissions offices, where commitments are frequently made and then broken, leading to a chaotic landscape of mutual defaults. Students colloquially refer to the act of reneging on commitments as “鸽” (pigeon someone off), reflecting a playful nod to certain aspects of the strategy....

The DOJ v Google antitrust trial comes to an end—lasting only three weeks. Before the recap and a detailed dive down into Google’s defense, here’s two fun/exciting news: Prof. Paul Milgrom testifies for Google The DOJ is going to have a hard time. Google certainly knows to get the best person to do the job. According to Tom Blakely from inside the courtroom: As soon as his testimony began, I realized [Prof....

More popcorn for the ongoing, unprecedented, exciting DOJ v Google trial. During the trial, Google has put forward an illustration to highlight its stance. the spaghetti football—by Google But it seems that (according to people attending to the court) that this approach has backfired. The figure “made it evident that Google is ubiquitous in digital advertising.” Well, as the saying goes, if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit…

The Department of Justice has been really occupied lately… Official announcement on Sept. 24, 2024: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-visa-monopolizing-debit-markets: “The Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Visa for monopolization and other unlawful conduct in debit network markets in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act” Link to the complaint filing: https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1370421/dl. The following is a snippet of DOJ’s press release that gives a sense of what is happening:...

In China, doctors tend to get red pennants “JinQi” from their patients, to show appreciation and gratitude. My dad has got a lot of them over his career—I once swung by his office and the doctors store their pennants in buckets… I thought he was well beyond the phase of treating it seriously. But recent days he got another one and posted it everywhere on his social media🤣. Tips of giving out pennant: the bestower should loudly announce their presence and even pretend to be lost so that everyone knows who they’re looking for....

The NY Times has an interesting story about fashion: Why Do So Many People Wear All Black? Link. Vanessa Friedman (2024). The discussion begins with a mentioning of a middle school in Texas banning students to wear top-to-bottom black, because the color was more associated with “depression and mental health issues and/or criminality than with happy and healthy kids ready to learn.” The decision [banning all-black attires], not surprisingly, produced such an outcry that it was quickly put on hold to allow for community discussion....

Not time to look thoroughly into Google’s issue yet. However, one of Google’s main arguments: With the cost of ads going down and the number of ads sold going up, the market is working. The DOJ’s case risks inefficiencies and higher prices — the last thing that America’s economy or our small businesses need right now. Sounds more like a threat than a proper defense. To me it’s less compelling than DOJ’s 170-page complaints....

Here’s your Sunday cuppa tea, or wine if you’d need for today’s juicy content: what has Google done wrong, for real? Today let’s drink the richest blend—how they manipulated their auction mechanism to secure monopoly—according to the DOJ’s filed complaint. Related blogs about DOJ vs. Google: DOJ’s complaints overview, and break down Part I and Part II. before we begin, here’s a quick recap: A quick look at the complete market:...