DRAM Price Fixing

AEton writes "There's an interesting article up at Newsforge, an OSDN sibling site, about price fixing in the DRAM market. According to Melanie Hollands, a technology analyst, market consolidation and uncertain prices have contributed to subtle cooperation between the major DRAM "competitors" to keep prices high. While she finds little "hard evidence of collusion", there are strong circumstantial trends which last year sparked a secretive Department of Justice antitrust inquiry." Allegations of this have been floating around for a while - heck, you can even join the suit.

Comments

Re:Howto - Legalized Price Fixing

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

What you cite is not price-fixing without some added components, and with those added components, your little example is illegal. For prices to be fixed, companies need to all be in agreement that their prices should all stay at level X so that everyone is making a tidy profit. In the situations you outline, you don't specify whether ATT and MCI have communicated and agreed to these price increases. If one company is merely changing their pricing policy and another realizes that they can remain competitive in the market with higher prices now that the other company has raised their prices, this is merely the flow of capitalism.

Now, getting to your comment that price fixing laws are "stupid" - why do you believe this?

Your citation of OPEC is flawed as well because OPEC acts as a single entity in a market where other entities exist. In the case of oil, OPEC is a single country in a market where the US buys from other producers as well. And finally, "shit happens man"? Yes, shit does happen. No need to comment on it if that's all the comment you have.

Re:Howto - Legalized Price Fixing

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

I meant "company", not country. And I wasn't speaking literally but since all OPEC members agree to the same production and price levels, OPEC can be viewed as a single company.