COVER STORY EXTRA! Defining the Issues
Here is a closer look at the key issues being discussed at the Justice Department these days.
Mike Wilson
Published: Nov 6, 2009
Concentration - The extent to which a small number of firms controls most of the sales or purchases in a specific industry or market. The term consolidation is closely related to concentration, and refers to the organizing of farms, food processors, or retail stores into fewer, larger firms.
Monopoly - When a business, usually a large corporation, is the only provider of a good or service. If you become a monopolist innocently, antitrust cannot touch you. It is the intent to monopolize and attempts to monopolize that are actionable.
Monopsony - A market situation in which the product or service of several sellers is sought by only one buyer.
Oligopoly - A market dominated by a small number of participants who are able to collectively exert control over supply and market prices.
Packers and Stockyards Act - Passed in 1921, made it unlawful for packers to manipulate prices, to create a monopoly, or to award favors to any person or locality.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act - Passed in 1890, the primary Federal antitrust law that was established to put an end to companies conspiring with competitors to fix prices.
Vertical integration - The process in which several steps in the production and/or distribution of a product or service are controlled by a single company or entity, in order to increase that company's power in the marketplace.
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