FTC sues Amazon for illegally maintaining monopoly power

<p> FTC Accusations Against Amazon.com:</p><ul><li>Accused of using anti-discounting measures that penalize sellers and discourage other online retailers from offering prices lower than Amazon's.</li><li>FTC is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court to prevent Amazon from continuing its alleged unlawful conduct.</li><li>US Federal Trade Commission and 17 US state attorneys general are suing Amazon for 'illegally maintaining monopoly power'.</li><li>FTC Chair Khan accuses Amazon of using coercive tactics to unlawfully uphold its monopolies.</li><li>Amazon's schemes reportedly influence hundreds of billions in retail sales annually, affecting over 100 million shoppers.</li><li>Allegedly biases Amazon's search results to favor its own products over higher quality ones.</li><li>Accused of imposing 'costly' fees on hundreds of thousands of sellers dependent on Amazon for business.</li></ul><p>Amazon replies to lawsuit saying:</p><ul><li>if FT C antitrust suit successful, the results would be fewer products to choose from, higher prices, slower deliveries for consumers</li><li>FTC lawsuit is wrong on the facts, and the law, and we look forward to making that case in court</li></ul><p>Shares of Amazon are trading down $3.95 or -3.01% $127.30. </p><p>The overall stock market is sharply lower with:</p><ul><li>Dow industrial average -296 points or -0.87% at 33711</li><li>S&amp;P index is down -48.82 points or -1.13% at 4288.65</li><li>NASDAQ index is down -162 points or -1.22% at 13110.79</li></ul>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.