When servicing shifted to Mr. Cooper on April 1, 2025, the Swartzes resubmitted their recast request at the servicer’s direction. Mr. Cooper approved it in writing on April 29, confirmed it was completed on May 20, and on June 4 notified the couple that their private mortgage insurance had been dropped, setting their new monthly payment at $3,852.76 effective July 1.
The couple says they paid that amount, on time, every month.
Then things took a turn. On October 2, Mr. Cooper’s own monthly statement confirmed the next payment was due November 1, with $0.00 past due. Eight days later, on October 10, the servicer sent a letter claiming the loan was delinquent and demanding $12,265.02. After that, according to the filing, Mr. Cooper stopped accepting the couple’s payments altogether.
By November 18, the alleged past due balance had ballooned to $30,122.01. The Swartzes sent a Notice of Error on December 2, flagging what they described as misapplied payments and false delinquency reporting to credit bureaus. The servicer, they say, did not correct course.
On January 16, 2026, Mr. Cooper recorded a Notice of Default on the home, claiming $37,861.49 was past due. By January 21, the servicer’s statement listed a reinstatement amount of $43,661.98. The couple alleges the servicer never contacted them to discuss their financial situation or explore alternatives to foreclosure — despite filing a declaration stating it had tried with due diligence to do so.
Over the past couple of weeks, money looks to be moving out of stocks and into bonds. That could be a dangerous sign for stock investors.
Throughout the recent market cycle, there has been some peculiar behavior in the relationship between stocks and bonds. Historically, stocks and bonds often move in opposite directions. As one of these asset classes is in favor, the other usually lags.
Over the past three years, that hasn’t been the case. Since the beginning of 2023, the S&P 500 has pretty consistently moved higher. But long-term Treasury yields have remained largely flat over the period.
10 Year Treasury Rate data by YCharts
A couple of factors can help explain this:
While inflation has declined significantly from its 2022 peak, it’s still above the Federal Reserve’s long-term target. Higher inflation tends to lead to higher interest rates.
Government debt continues to soar. With more supply hitting the market, the rate paid on the debt needs to be higher to get investors to buy it.
This dynamic has helped drive investors to gold to address market and currency risk instead of Treasuries.
The equity market has also seen a major rotation out of tech and growth stocks. This behavior of Treasury yields leads me to believe that the money coming out of tech is flowing into other areas of the equity market. We see this in the year-to-date returns in defensive, value, low-volatility, and small-cap stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
In other words, the stagnant returns of long-term Treasuries suggest that this is a stocks-to-stocks rotation, not a stocks-to-bonds one.
Now that may be changing.
Treasury yields are dropping
Earlier this month, the 10-year Treasury yield dropped by roughly 25 basis points from peak to valley over a seven-day period. That’s the sharpest decline in this yield over a seven-day period since September.
10 Year Treasury Rate data by YCharts
Granted, seven days is an arbitrary measurement period. And, as you can see from the chart above, the 10-year yield is still within the range it’s been in for several months.
But it also can’t be ignored. Sudden declines like this typically only occur during negative sentiment shifts. Whether that sentiment change sticks is very situation-dependent, but I don’t think we can discount the fact that investors got a little spooked here. This is confirmed by the uptick in volatility we saw at the same time.
Some will argue that the move in yields was a result of the lower-than-expected inflation print we saw in January. I get that, but I think there was too much movement elsewhere in the market consistent with a risk-off move than could be accounted for just by an inflation report.
In summary, this has the look of the stocks-to-bonds move that could signal a broader risk-off environment ahead. Investors would be wise to keep an eye on the direction of rates and volatility here to see if this was a one-off move or a catalyst for a more vulnerable market ahead.
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The Waldorf Astoria New York is back on the market. The iconic property reopened late last year following a massive eight-year closure and restoration. I actually had a stay booked for early January using a Hilton Free Night Reward but unfortunately had to cancel. Hopefully, I’ll make it there soon.
But now, the owners are looking to sell the Park Avenue landmark, likely at a significant loss as reported by WSJ. The Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group originally purchased the property from Hilton for $1.95 billion back in 2014. Hilton had previously owned the hotel since 1972, when it was purchased from Penn Central.
Anbang began renovating the property in 2017, but the project was derailed that same year when its CEO was arrested and charged with fundraising fraud and embezzlement. The Chinese government subsequently seized the company and created Dajia Insurance Group to manage Anbang’s core assets, including the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
The extensive renovation lasted from 2017 until 2025, with a price tag that ballooned to over $2 billion due to pandemic delays and the complexity of landmark preservation. The work included the replacement of nearly 5,600 windows with historically accurate replicas and 1.3 million bricks that were cleaned or replaced. The famous Grand Ballroom and the Park Avenue Foyer, both designated landmarks, were restored to their 1931 Art Deco glory.
This renovation also reduced the hotel’s footprint from 1,400 rooms to just 375. About half of the 1.6-million-square-foot structure was converted into 372 private residences, ranging from studios to four-bedroom condos. The condos are being sold separately from the hotel operations. They range in price from $1.8 million for studios to over $18 million for four-bedroom units.
The hotel is expected to sell for around $1 billion, or maybe slightly more. While the condos could bring in up to an additional $2 billion, the total would still represent a significant loss on the $4 billion spent to purchase and renovate the property.
For those with upcoming stays or Hilton Honors free night or points to burn, it remains “business as usual” for now. Even with a new owner, the hotel is likely to stay within the Hilton portfolio. When Hilton sold the property in 2014, they signed a 100-year management agreement, ensuring that the Waldorf Astoria New York will remain the brand’s flagship for decades to come.
Have you stayed at Waldorf Astoria New York after the renovation, or even before? Leave a comment and let me know about your experience!
College admissions interviews serve as a critical component in evaluating prospective students.
Their prominence has evolved over time, many colleges now deem admissions interviews optional or put less emphasis on them entirely. In fact, many colleges simply use the college admissions interview as an alumni engagement tool – giving alumni a sense of purpose to hopefully solicit future donations.
But even if they aren’t as popular as before, they still remain a tool for admissions counselors to assess a candidate’s “fit”. Furthermore, they provide a unique chance to showcase your personality, achievements, and goals beyond your GPA and written application materials.
If you were invited for a college admissions interview, here’s how to prepare. From knowing the role of the interview in the admissions process to preparing for commonly asked interview questions, I’ll share exactly what you should know to make a lasting impression in your interview.
Table of Contents
The Role Of The College Admission Interview
Before The Interview
On The Day Of The Interview
After The Interview
Research Is King
Common College Interview Questions To Expect
How To Prepare For College Interview Questions
How To Answer Questions You Didn’t Prepare For
The Takeaway
The Role Of The College Admission Interview
College admissions interviews do not only exist as a formality; they are an additional way for the admissions counselor to assess how suited the candidate is to the school’s culture. It’s also a way for the candidate to assess how well the school meets their individual needs.
The admissions interview is rarely a deciding factor in whether the college will accept you; rather, it’s a chance for you to expand on your interests in the school and anything else you wish to share beyond what is included in your admission application. That might mean:
Discussing your goals and what the college offers in alignment with those goals.
Sharing information about yourself beyond what’s on your transcript.
Mentioning anything on your record you’d like to explain, such as a low grade or a temporary break in enrollment.
As you are speaking, the interviewer will also be assessing you by:
Identifying your level of interest in attending the university.
Gauging your verbal and non-verbal communication skills, including how well you articulate your thoughts.
Asking questions that clarify any ambiguities in your transcript or other application materials.
Taking note of how well the university’s overall curriculum and environment align with your goals and interests.
Note that this interview is generally just a more formal conversation, done either virtually or in-person, between yourself and an admissions representative. Be careful not to overthink it, as the ultimate goal is to get to know YOU better.
Before The Interview
Make an interview appointment with the college you want to attend.
Review the school’s website and course catalog.
Jot down your thoughts on why you want to attend this school.
Write out your academic background and related experiences.
Note your hobbies, involvement, and accomplishments outside the classroom.
Get familiar with common interview questions.
Prepare questions to ask the admission’s officer you have about the school.
Gather materials to bring with you (e.g., notebook and pen, printed test scores or transcript, etc.).
If your interview is in-person, get directions ahead of time and plan your route.
On The Day Of The Interview
Arrive early.
Dress appropriately (i.e., put on a nice, well-fitted top and pants that you might not wear any other day of the week).
Be polite, positive, and attentive throughout your conversation.
Avoid using slang or inappropriate language.
Answer questions honestly.
Remember to display confidence in your answers.
After The Interview
Write down any new thoughts on the school that came to light during your interview.
Send a thank-you note to the admissions office with special attention to the person who interviewed you.
Follow up on any areas that were unclear to you or dig a bit further in your research to fill the gaps.
Research Is King
The best way to prepare for an admissions interview is to do your own research. Even though you did some digging before even applying to the school, now is the time to narrow in on the areas most important to you. Familiarize yourself with the school’s culture and programs, as well as the surrounding campus community.
Being well-informed about the college will help you tailor your answers to each question and showcase how your goals and interests align with what the school has to offer.
As you’re researching, jot down any thoughts or questions that come to mind. The admissions interview is a great time to clarify any concerns you have, too. And while you’re at it, make note of your academic background, experiences, hobbies, and any achievements that may come up in conversation. This is a great time to expand on your own interests, so think through which topics you want to elaborate on and how you will articulate them.
When you’re ready, schedule or confirm your interview day and time with the admissions office. And take note of the meeting location if it’s in-person. College campuses are notoriously confusing to navigate, so make sure you know where you’re going so you can arrive early and feeling confident!
Related: Compare Colleges With These 13 Top Research Tools
Common College Interview Questions To Expect
The next thing you’ll want to do is review commonly asked questions. These will largely center around your academic and extracurricular interests. However, they may also dive into your long-term goals, strengths and weakness, and general reasons for wanting to attend the school. Preparing for commonly asked questions will help you deliver thoughtful, genuine responses and demonstrate your preparedness for the conversation.
In no particular order, common interview questions include:
What are the benefits of receiving an education from this school?
What do you think is the most important thing to consider when choosing a college?
What are your academic interests or potential areas of study?
Without telling me your GPA, what do your transcripts say about you as a student?
Does your academic history reflect the type of student you hope to be here?
What are you hoping to get out of your college experience?
What activities do you find most rewarding?
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not in class?
What do you expect to be doing 10 years from now?
How will this university help you reach your academic or career goals?
The questions above help the admissions counselor learn who you are on a basic level. But they may want to dig deeper to understand your true priorities and how you think through things. So, it would be good to also practice answering these more challenging questions:
What have you read recently that’s changed how you view the world?
What are three interesting things about you that I wouldn’t find in your application?
Can you give me an example of a recent obstacle or failure you’ve learned from?
If you could change one thing about your past education, what would it be?
If you have $1,000 to give away, what would you do with it?
Keep in mind that not all of these questions will be asked, but it helps to plan for the unexpected. There are endless online resources that walk through these questions and more, explaining what the interviewer is looking for and how to answer them. But you can also read on to learn about strategies for formulating thoughtful responses and handling tough questions you didn’t prepare for.
How To Prepare For College Interview Questions
As you review the common interview questions above, I recommend making a bulleted list of key points you want to mention in your interview. If you don’t know it yet, let me be the first to share that writing out complete answers to each question is not a method for success. You want to appear casual and relaxed in conversation, so try to refrain from memorizing your answers. Instead, remember key points and then practice your responses with a friend. This will help you pivot during the interview.
How To Answer Questions You Didn’t Prepare For
You will almost certainly be asked a question you didn’t prepare for. But remember, the interview isn’t only about having all the answers; it’s about demonstrating your ability to think critically and communicate effectively. View an unexpected question as an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to adapt, then execute these tips:
Pause and take a breath.
If the question isn’t clear, kindly ask for additional context.
Use your preparation to connect unexpected questions to topics you have prepared for.
Be honest and transparent and stay on-topic.
Use your answer to subtly transition to an area you are more comfortable discussing.
The Takeaway
I’ll reiterate that your college admissions interview is important – but it isn’t everything. The admissions process involves multiple criteria, and you should feel good knowing that the other important metrics (college entrance exams, transcripts, applications) in your admissions decision have already been accounted for, even before you sit down for your interview.
Regardless, thorough preparation for your admissions interview can leave you feeling competent and confident day-of. From scheduling your interview and choosing your outfit to reviewing common questions and preparing thoughtful answers, you’ll know you took all the necessary steps to set yourself up for success. After all, a well-prepared interview can have a positive impact on your holistic admissions decision.
Above all else, demonstrate your knowledge and excitement for joining the college community, maintain professional tone and behavior, and answer each question clearly, you’ll do just fine. Good luck!
Editor: Ashley Barnett
Reviewed by: Robert Farrington
The post Mastering The College Admission Interview: Your Comprehensive Guide And Sample Q&A appeared first on The College Investor.
It took a lot longer than expected, but we finally have a sub-6% mortgage rate!
This according to the latest reading from Mortgage News Daily, which tracks mortgage rates each day.
The widely-cited index hit 5.99% on the dot today as bond yields fell and the stock market crashed.
Call it a flight to safety in bonds, enough to give mortgage rates that little push they needed to finally get into the 5s.
The big question now though is will they stay there? Or simply bounce back above 6%? And how will prospective home buyers react?
5% Mortgage Rates Arrive Just in Time for the Spring Home Buying Season
While mortgage rates briefly hit 5.99% back in early January when that $200 billion MBS buying program was announced, it was short-lived.
In fact, by MND’s own measure, a midday price change mean the 30-year fixed only spent a portion of the day sub-6%.
So it was not at all sustained, or long enough for the national media to run headlines celebrating a 5% mortgage rate.
Perhaps this time will be different, as we’ve spent more time testing these new lower levels and now it could stick.
Especially since the driver this time appears to be a good old-fashioned stock market selloff and accompanying flight to safety in bonds.
Simply put, when there’s lot of uncertainty, stocks drop and investors seek the comfort of bonds.
That sudden rush of demand increases the bond’s price but pushes their yield, or interest rate, down.
The effect is a lower 30-year fixed mortgage rate, which moves in lockstep with 10-year bond yields because both have a similar maturity of a decade.
Remember, most 30-year mortgages are prepaid well ahead of time due to various reasons, whether it’s a home sale, a mortgage refinance, or extra payments.
I’ve said for a while that mortgage rates being close to the 5s while the stock market was at/near all-time highs meant a simple flight to safety could easily get us lower.
And that appears to be the case today. Investors are growing nervous of the high valuations while also hearing about major displacement due to emerging AI technology.
If a bigger move into bonds takes place as a result, mortgage rates could make an even deeper move into the 5s.
Can Mortgage Rates Actually Stay in the 5s This Time?
The last time the 30-year fixed was actually in the 5% range for more than a fleeting moment was the summer of 2022.
But at that time, mortgage rates were ascending rapidly. So a 5% mortgage rate wasn’t seen as a gift, but rather a curse as rates had started the year in the 3s!
The big question now is can we stay here, or dare I say improve from current levels?
The biggest driver for improved affordability is mortgage rates. Sure, you can argue home prices are too high, but rates are an easier lever to pull.
For every 1% drop in mortgage rate, you’d need about an 11% drop in home price to achieve the same improvement in affordability.
Ultimately, it’s more likely for rates to fall by that amount than for home prices.
Although, it’s totally reasonable for both mortgage rates and home prices to fall in tandem.
Many don’t understand this, but if mortgage rates are falling due to economic jitters, home prices could do the same.
If the outlook is cloudy or even gloomy, both can fall at the same time, thereby improving housing affordability immensely.
Of course, we don’t want to root for an economic collapse just to save a few bucks on the mortgage.
Continued easing in rates without economic calamity would be the preferred route.
Let’s just remember though that they’re literally one basis point into the 5s and we’ve seen this movie before.
The key will be staying in the 5% range for longer than a day or a week or even a month.
That will help us determine how important a mortgage rate that starts with a ‘5’ will be for this market.
Will Home Buyers React as Expected to 5% Mortgage Rates?
A question I’ve been asking myself lately is will 5% mortgage rates be meaningful to the housing market.
Will they get more buyers off the fence and home sellers too? Remember that a home seller might want/need a low-rate environment as well to list their home.
Why? Because they’re likely a buyer too. Most home sellers are home buyers. So they need the affordability picture to improve if they’re going to make a move.
It’s not just about buyers.
Another thing to keep in mind here is that much of this is psychological.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. The difference in monthly payment on a $400,000 loan set at 5.875% versus 6% is only about $32 per month!
Mathematically, it’s not a lot and clearly not enough to sway a home purchase decision. At least I hope it isn’t.
That means it comes down to human psychology. Do home buyers and home sellers feel more comfortable in an environment where mortgage rates finally feel “cheap” again?
Read on: 2026 Mortgage Rate Predictions
Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.
Bill Deng, CEO of China-based fintech platform XTransfer, thinks stablecoins can help finally digitize business-to-business transactions, often still stuck in a world of PDFs and emails.
Much of cross-border trade now operates around the clock. Ports, airports, and fulfillment centers work at all hours of the day.
But “when it comes to money, there’s no 24/7 infrastructure,” Deng complained during an interview with Fortune on the sidelines of the Forum Ekonomi Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in early February. Business-to-consumer and peer-to-peer financial transactions–even across borders–can now be done in minutes. Yet, in the business world, “they negotiate deals via pro forma invoices, and they still exchange information via email,” he says.
Stablecoins–digital tokens tied to a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar—can make payments “more transparent, faster, and with a much lower cost,” Deng argued. “For domestic payments, stablecoins do not add that much value. But for cross‑border transactions, they can be extremely valuable.”
Several governments, including the U.S., Japan, and the Chinese city of Hong Kong, have set up regulatory frameworks for stablecoins. The total market value of all stablecoins is now $300 billion, up by 75% year-on-year. But there’s still a long way to go before stablecoins start to play a role in cross-border payments: A McKinsey estimate put annual stablecoin payments at only $390 billion, or just 0.02% of the total.
Small- and medium-sized enterprises throughout the developing world often turn to unregulated “shadow banking” systems to get money across borders. For example, there’s “hawala,” a centuries-old form of money transfer that predates the formal international banking system. In a typical hawala transaction, a customer pays cash to a broker in one country, and a corresponding broker in the destination country pays out the equivalent to the intended recipient. Hawala is often faster than traditional banking, and extends to areas underserved by traditional financial infrastructure. “It’s become the mainstream for SMEs in many developing countries,” Deng explained.
Yet due to its use by criminal networks, governments have scrutinized hawala and other shadow finance systems for money-laundering. Because hawala operates outside the formal banking system, its funds sometimes mingle with proceeds from fraud or other crimes. When banks detect these tainted flows, they freeze accounts.
“Banks are reluctant to provide services to SMEs, which forces enterprises to use hawala, and as a result, banks are even less willing to serve them,” Deng says.
XTransfer is already helping companies navigate a global tangle of anti-money-laundering regulation; Deng claimed AI helps his company do compliance more accurately than traditional banks at just 5% of the cost.
He also noted that stablecoins might help governments trying to keep an eye on illicit financial flows. Stablecoin transactions can hold data about the sender, receiver, and the purpose of a payment, making it easier for regulators to act quickly if something looks suspicious. “If there is some criminal evidence to show that the money needs to be frozen, issuers can freeze it within one second,” he explained.
Deng and five other co-founders established XTransfer in 2017 as a B2B version of Alipay, the ubiquitous Chinese payments service. Deng had spent over a decade in the payments sector, first at Visa, then at Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial. After several of his colleagues left to start their own businesses, including ride-hailing firm Didi, Deng decided to make the jump to become a startup founder too.
XTransfer serves over 800,000 enterprises, almost half of which are outside of China; The firm now processes over $12 billion in payments each month, and over 2% of China’s exports. In late 2025, the firm signed strategic partnerships with Malaysia’s Maybank, Thailand’s Kasikornbank, and Taiwan’s Bank SinoPac.
Still, XTransfer is getting a front-row seat to shifting trade flows, sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap a wide array of tariffs on U.S. imports. (On Feb. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court deemed many of these tariffs to be illegal; Trump has vowed to maintain tariffs anyway).
Deng says the U.S. share of payments flowing through XTransfer’s platform has dropped from 22% a few years ago to just 9% today. In contrast, flows from “Global South” countries now account for 70% of the total.
XTransfer’s business in Asia, Africa, and Latin America grew 106% in 2025, with Africa surging more than 270%, according to a January press statement.
In the long run, Deng sees trade as shifting away from individual manufacturing powerhouses like China, with supply chains becoming more like a network connecting different smaller economies. And he argues Chinese business can help play a role in fostering the growth of manufacturing sectors elsewhere.
“The first thing locals think about Chinese people is that they’re wealthy,” he says, with a laugh. “Many Chinese people are bringing business into these countries–just like how the U.S. and Britain brought business into China 40 years ago.”
Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster have asked a federal judge to pause the upcoming Department of Justice antitrust trial while two legal questions are reviewed by an appeals court.
The companies argue that two key conclusions in last week’s summary judgment decision were legally wrong, and should be reviewed by an appeals court before any jury is seated.
The motion, filed on Sunday (February 22) in the Southern District of New York, seeks a so-called interlocutory appeal. That means Live Nation wants to challenge parts of the trial judge’s ruling before the case has concluded, rather than waiting until after a verdict to appeal.
In most federal cases, parties can only appeal after a final judgment; this route is reserved for situations where a legal question is significant enough to warrant immediate review by a higher court.
Jury selection is currently scheduled to begin on March 2.
The formal motion follows a public statement by Live Nation’s EVP of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Dan Wall, which took a markedly different approach but signaled a similar desire to avert the upcoming trial.
On Thursday (February 19), Wall published a post on the company’s newsroom titled ‘It’s Time to Move On,’ publicly calling on the DOJ to settle the case. The post was also emailed to press.
It was subsequently removed from Live Nation’s website without explanation; the Wayback Machine shows it was still accessible on February 20.
Sunday’s court filing, which you can read here, takes a different tack. Rather than calling for a settlement, it argues that the trial shouldn’t happen at all until the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has weighed in.
The ruling in question is Judge Arun Subramanian’s February 18 summary judgment order, which you can read here.
It narrowed the government’s case, dismissing claims that Live Nation monopolized the national concert promotion market, but allowed several major claims to proceed to trial, including allegations around Ticketmaster’s exclusive venue contracts and Live Nation’s practice of tying access to its amphitheaters to its promotion services.
Live Nation is not appealing the parts of the ruling it won. Instead, it is challenging two specific legal conclusions within the order that allowed the government’s remaining claims to survive:
The first argument in the new filing concerns how the government defined its ticketing markets.
The government’s case focuses on a specific group of customers it calls ‘major concert venues.’ Live Nation argues that if you want to build a monopoly case around a specific group of customers, you need to show those customers are actually being charged differently. It says the government has “zero evidence of actual price discrimination” in those markets.
The company notes that the only other court to have ruled on this question in a monopolization case — in the FTC’s lawsuit against Meta Platforms last year — “agreed with Defendants’ view.”
Judge Subramanian reached the opposite conclusion, and Live Nation says the Second Circuit should resolve the disagreement.
If Live Nation prevails on that point, the government’s monopoly claims in the ticketing markets, its exclusive dealing claim, and the state attorneys general’s damages claims would all fall away.
The second argument concerns the ‘tying’ claim: the allegation that Live Nation forces artists who want to play its amphitheaters to also use its promotion services.
Live Nation points out that Judge Subramanian already found that the government’s proposed market for the tied product, promotion services at major concert venues, is not a valid antitrust market. Yet the court allowed the tying claim to proceed.
The company argues you can’t have a tying claim without a valid market for the tied product, and that “the Court’s decision deviated from” binding Second Circuit caselaw and rulings from courts across the country.
Live Nation argues that “if either or both legal questions were decided the other way, the nature and scope of the upcoming trial would fundamentally change: of the three sets of claims this Court identified as proceeding to trial after summary judgment, the first two would be effectively eliminated.”
If all federal claims fell away, Live Nation contends the court “could and should then decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the State claims,” potentially ending the entire case.
The company argues that “the Court should not empanel a jury to try a complex, month-long case when that trial (at least as currently envisioned) may well prove wholly unnecessary,” and that a pause would “avoid wasting the resources of the parties, this Court, and jury members on a trial of claims that may well be deemed legally deficient on appeal.”
In his now-removed post, Wall had argued that Judge Subramanian’s summary judgment ruling effectively killed any prospect of a court-ordered breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
Wall wrote that the dismissal of the concert promotion monopoly claims “ends the narrative that concert promotion and ticketing are ‘mutually reinforcing monopolies,’” and that separating Live Nation from Ticketmaster “would not serve any remedial purpose, let alone be a legally permissible remedy.”
He wrote that the case was now limited to three issues: “long-term exclusive ticketing contracts, a discrete ticketing deal Ticketmaster has with Oakview Group, and Live Nation’s policy of not renting its amphitheaters to rival promoters.”
None of those, Wall argued, “nor even all three taken together, warrants more than standard injunctive relief.”
Wall also took aim at the origins of the case under the Biden administration, writing that former DOJ Antitrust Chief Jonathan Kanter “broke from usual DOJ practice and announced on Day One that ‘it was time to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.’”
He added: “He also told the American public that the merger and its attendant evils were responsible for high ticket prices and fees. Of course, none of this was true.”
Wall cited the Google Search antitrust case as precedent, noting that a federal judge had rejected the DOJ’s request to force Google to divest its Chrome browser, instead opting for more targeted remedies.
He argued that court-ordered breakups of monopolies are vanishingly rare, writing: “The last time it happened was in 1980, when AT&T agreed to be broken up to resolve a monopolization case that was in the late stages of trial.”
The DOJ, joined by attorneys general from 39 US states and the District of Columbia, sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May 2024, alleging monopolistic conduct across the live entertainment industry.
An additional 10 states later joined the lawsuit.
Live Nation reported record annual revenues of $25.2 billion for 2025 on the same day Wall’s now-removed post was published.
