Price Fixing

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Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Price Fixing'

Establishing the price of a product or service, rather than allowing it to be determined naturally through free-market forces. Antitrust legislation makes it illegal for businesses to decide to fix their prices under specific circumstances. However, there is no legal protection against government price fixing. In an ill-fated attempt to end the Great Depression, for example, Franklin Roosevelt forced businesses to fix prices in the 1930s. However, this action may have actually prolonged the downturn.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Price Fixing'

 Some economists believe antitrust laws are unnecessary because the free market already contains several built-in guards against price fixing. Consumers who believe that an item is priced unfairly high can do any of the following:

• Purchase a substitute good or service that is lower-priced

• Decrease their consumption for the good, making it unprofitable for businesses to keep prices fixed

• Buy the product from another country

Distrust among companies in a price fixing arrangement also acts as a barrier to continued manipulation. And, if all those fail, price fixing usually breaks down because of the power of large buyers to negotiate the price they are willing to pay.
Search results for

'Price Fixing'

  • Antitrust Defined

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/040704.asp
    ... The act's primary goal was to limit the expansion of monopolies, the restriction
    of free trade (competition) and the imposition of price fixing by industry ...

  • A History Of US Monopolies

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/hammer-antitrust.asp
    ... Sherman's Hammer Responding to a large public outcry to check the price fixing abuses
    of these monopolies, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890. ...

  • When and why did brokerages switch from fixed commissions to ...

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/brokerages-fixed-commission-negotiated-deregulation.asp
    ... each firm had a high opinion of the value of its advice and a feeling that a
    gentleman's agreement on rates, something laymen might call price fixing, could ...

  • History Of The US Federal Trade Commission

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/10/the-us-federal-trade-commission.asp
    ... The Bureau of Competition investigates and attempts the prevention of anticompetitive
    business practices, such as monopolies, price fixing and similar ...

  • What is an antitrust law?

    http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/antitrust-law.asp
    ... Price Fixing: My company and your company are the only two companies in our industry,
    and our products are so similar that the consumer is indifferent between ...

  • Packaging Getting Boxed In

    http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Packaging-Getting-Boxed-In-IP-SSCC-PKG-TIN-WY-FOR0923.aspx
    ... Weyerhaeuser sold its container business to IP a few years ago), and the plaintiff
    is pushing for class-action status, while alleging price-fixing going back ...

  • 10 Biggest Losers In Finance Slideshow | Investopedia

    http://www.investopedia.com/slide-show/biggest-losers-in-finance
    ... The range of his activities from 1986 to 1996 have raised questions about whether
    he was a rogue trader or a member of a price-fixing conspiracy. ...

  • 5 Failed Currencies And Why They Crashed - Investopedia.com

    http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1210/5-Failed-Currencies-And-Why-They-Crashed-.aspx
    ... Widespread labor strikes caused severe production drops and falling exports, and
    price-fixing led to a rise in black markets for critical commodities. ...

  • The History Of Options Contracts

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/10/history-options-futures.asp
    ... Price fixing and collusion are still issues the agencies try to prohibit in
    order to create an "even" playing field for all investors. ...

  • Cal-Maine Foods: An "Egg-Citing" Company

    http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Cal-Maine-Foods-An-Egg-Citing-Company-CALM0427.aspx
    ... Cal-Maine Foods was named as one of many defendants in a series of class
    action lawsuits alleging price fixing in the egg industry. ...

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