All articles tagged with #price manipulation
Three major egg producers—Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch—will pay $3.3 million and donate 53 million eggs after a bipartisan probe found they secretly colluded to inflate the daily egg price index from 2022 to 2025, using spoofing-like tactics; part of the eggs will go to food banks and New Yorkers in need (4.9 million to NYC groups), and the companies must end price manipulation and adopt compliance measures.
Three US egg producers—Cal-Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch—agreed to settle claims they coordinated bids to inflate Urner Barry’s egg price benchmark from 2022–2025, donating about 53 million eggs and paying $3.3 million; the deal, still subject to court approval, would require them to stop communicating with competitors about bidding, appoint antitrust compliance officers, and implement monitoring after DoJ and 17 state attorneys general alleged bid strategies created artificial demand and higher prices amid avian-influenza-driven shortages.
A customer accuses Target of inflating prices before sales to create the illusion of discounts, a tactic that erodes consumer trust and is especially prevalent around major shopping events like Black Friday, contributing to wasteful consumer behavior and broader retail concerns.
The article highlights 29 recent examples of shrinkflation, where products get smaller but prices stay the same, causing consumer frustration and alerting shoppers to be vigilant about hidden price increases.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Amazon, accusing the company of illegally maintaining a monopoly. The FTC's complaint, which was partially redacted, revealed details about a secret algorithm called "Project Nessie" that Amazon allegedly used to raise prices across popular online shopping destinations. The algorithm reportedly manipulated rivals' pricing algorithms, leading competitors to raise their prices and charge customers more. The FTC alleges that Amazon made over $1 billion in revenue using this algorithm. Amazon denies the allegations, stating that the tool was intended to prevent unsustainable price matching. The FTC aims to prove that Amazon is stifling competition on price and causing harm to consumers.
Chicken consumers who purchased frozen or raw chicken between January 2009 and December 2020 may be eligible for part of a multimillion-dollar settlement in a class action lawsuit against major poultry producers. Harrison Poultry is the latest company to agree to pay $2.8 million, joining other industry giants such as Tyson Foods and Perdue Foods who settled for $181 million. The lawsuit alleges that these companies colluded to restrict chicken supply and inflate prices, violating state and federal antitrust laws. The settlement is pending court approval.