Picked up this little tid-bit this morning. What scum. . . .

Who do they think they are the Oil companies?


By MARK JOHNSON - Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y.(AP) New York's attorney general sued leading makers of memory chips Thursday, claiming they made secret price-fixing arrangements that inflated the cost of personal computers and other electronic devices.

More than 30 other states were expected to file a separate but similar lawsuit against chip makers Friday in San Francisco federal court, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.

The lawsuits follow a long-running U.S. Justice Department investigation that has resulted in more than $730 million in fines and guilty pleas from four companies _ Samsung Electronics Co., Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. was granted immunity from criminal charges in the DOJ case in exchange for its cooperation.

"I have never seen a price-fixing case where there is so widespread, so continuous an exchange of confidential price information among competitors or over so long a time period," said Assistant New York Attorney General Richard Schwartz.

The New York suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, claims the companies colluded to fix prices on dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips from 1998 until 2002. The defendants are Micron, Samsung, Infineon, Elpida, Hynix, Mosel-Vitelic Corp., Nanya Technology Corp. and NEC Electronics America Inc.

Micron spokesman Daniel Francisco had not yet seen the lawsuit Thursday and said it was not appropriate for him to comment on it. Other companies also declined to comment or did not immediately return phone calls.

Francisco said state attorneys general have been investigating the matter for several months, and the company is discussing "possible resolutions."

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"possible solutions" ? In other words they'll just pay a little fine and not drop prices.

Only a year old, that story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4340388.stm

It does not just occur in pc parts.... there is price fixing on oil, cardboard, food etc etc etc......

Basically where there is money to be made.... price fixing and monopolys will be formed

Money....the root of all evil.