$585 million price-fixing fine

[WriteDown]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three major electronics manufacturers have agreed to plead guilty to a price-fixing conspiracy and pay $585 million in criminal fines for their roles in the pricing of LCD display panels, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The department announced the charges following a settlement with Sharp Corp. of Japan; LG Display Co. (LPL) of South Korea and Chunghwa Picture Tubes of Taiwan.

The charges were filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Calif., and announced by the assistant attorney general for antitrust at the Justice Department in Washington. To top of page

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/12/news/international/pricefixing/index.htm?postversion=2008111213

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Ouch. Maybe this will bring the price of LCD TV's down even further.

[Lerkfish]

1. how so?> they'll have to recoup losses of 585 million.

how would that reduce prices?

[WriteDown]

2. I was being facetious..

:)

[Lerkfish]

3. oh, sorry, didn't pick up on that.

:)

[Selatius]

4. They can't if they turn it into a tax on their profits.

If they tried to raise their prices to recoup losses, they still would have to pay the same percentage out in taxes.

[WriteDown]

8. How exactly would that work?

[DainBramaged]

5. 3 LCD firms plead guilty in price-fixing scheme

Source: USA TODAY

Three electronics firms have agreed to plead guilty and pay $585 million in fines for conspiring to drive up prices for people buying computers, TVs and other LCD screens.
In a plea deal filed Wednesday, LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp., and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., agreed to cooperate in an antitrust investigation being run by the Justice Department.

The plea agreement was filed in federal court in San Francisco.

LCDs, or liquid crystal display monitors, are the glass display screens on most laptop computers, cellphones and new TVs.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott D. Hammond said the scheme cost not only consumers, but also retailers including Apple, Dell and Motorola.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-11-12-lcd-price-fixing_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

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Gee, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese electronic firms in a conspiracy to fix pricing. Who of thunk it?

Our Justice Department finally does something right, but do the consumers get a portion of the fines? Of course not. The consumer gets screwed again.

[tridim]

6. Is there ANY honest industry left in this World?

I think the only one left is prostitution.

[DainBramaged]

7. It is depressing, but again, the consumer gets the short end and the Government claims the booty.

[wroberts189]

10. I think there are .. we just do not hear about them. eom

[Yes We Did]

9. But they HAD to fix the prices...

Have you ever seen their TV's? They really suck. Nobody buys them.

[chitty]

12. I dunno

I have an LG 26" monitor and it's pretty damn nice.

I like it anyway.

As for TV's, I'm a Mitsubishi person.

[wroberts189]

11. I agree ..Tell you what though..I love my gateway rotate-able 24 inch