By Jieying Ding

First introduced in 2008, China’s Antitrust Law has a relatively short history and has not generated much attention until now. At one point, it had been called a “tiger without teeth.” However, now the tiger is apparently showing its teeth, hungry for prey. In September, China announced monetary penalties against Volkswagan and Chrysler. Price regulators in Hubei Province imposed a $ 40.5 million dollar fine against Volkswagan, and their counterparts in Shanghai imposed a $5.2 million dollar fine on Chrysler, making the combined fine at a total of $45.7 million dollars. Volkswagan and Chrysler are not alone. Up to twenty foreign companies in a wide range of industries have been under scrutiny, including those in the automobile, technology, pharmaceuticals and food packaging industries. In August 2014, China also fined 12 Japanese auto parts makers a record of $ 201 million dollars for price manipulation. Adding to the worries, Qualcomm, one of the world’s biggest makers of mobile chips, is also under investigation.

U.S. companies may be next in line. Microsoft has been subjected to surprise raids and lengthy investigations recently. Although China has not disclosed the focus of their investigation on Microsoft, the Chinese government has already reacted with concerns to Microsoft’s efforts trying to switch users to its new Windows 8 operating system: China banned procurement of Windows 8 for government officials earlier this year. China also gave Microsoft 20 days to give an explanation.

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October 20, 2014

By Jenny Park

The world’s biggest banks met with British regulators to discuss the possibility of settling the investigation into alleged manipulation of the foreign currency market. The banks’ traders are suspected of manipulating the foreign exchange rates that served as benchmarks for investments, of colluding to fix prices, and of front-running customers. With a potential fine of up to $3.3 billion, this investigation is one of many, which includes criminal investigations by U.S. and Britain. These investigations resemble an earlier crackdown on banks, which rigged the benchmark for credit card rates and other loans, which resulted in billions of dollars in penalties.

Read more here.

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October 16, 2014