U.s. News And World Report - 1042 Words

Recently U.S. News World Report published an article explaining to consumers who care why there must have iPhone is so costly lately. The reason is simple, there is a lack of competition in this market. When a lack on competition exists in a market it allows large firms, like Apple, to set their prices wherever they please (Soergel). A recent group of professors at Cornell University just did a market survey and discovered â€Å"a systematic decline in the number of publically traded firms over the last two decades.† The article reports the number of publically traded companies in the United States has decreased by 50% in only the last twenty years (Soergel). This decline in publically traded companies means certain industries, if not all,†¦show more content†¦Current research shows that it costs Apple $236 to produce and put together their 16 gig iPhone 6s Plus and they are selling it on their website for a whopping $749 (Soergel). That means the company is making o ver $500 in profits from just one phone! While it might baffle you that Apple is marking up their prices to that extreme it’s even more surprising when you realize that they legally aren’t doing anything wrong at all. The company is simply taking advantage of their low competition and the fact that customers will pay large sums for these new phones (Soergel). Apple has proved to an innovative leader throughout the past and now has the largest market share of any phone manufacturer both in the United States and China (Soergel). Lessening competition and rising prices have led many people to question when government regulators will intervene if at all. During the past few years regulators have been scrutinized for their lack of involvement. In the recent past multiple large mega-mergers have been approved even though these type of mergers have and continue to lead to freedom to charge whatever those companies want to (Soergel). Antitrust laws work to regulate these marke ts and keep them from turning into full fledge monopolies. The Sherman Act was established in 1890 and made it illegal to restrict interstate trade by any means and outlawed attempting to monopolize. The Clayton Act which was established in 1914 outlawed