December 14th, 2006
Sharp: “We’re not crooks. We’re inept.”
We recently noted that the price-fixing investigation of LCD makers seemed a little tough to prove, given that the industry pricing model still looks awfully broken. Now it seems that the defendants are picking up on our alibi suggestion. According to the Times of Oman:
“Honestly, we are surprised at the investigation, as we have been doing our business openly and squarely,” said Sharp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama.“It’s unthinkable to us that cartel activity took place given the fact that prices of LCDs are dropping sharply in the market,” she added.
You tell ‘em!
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[...] Investigation May Be Unwarranted, But Still Bad for LCD Business We were the first to point out that the price-fixing investigation aimed at LCD panel makers seemed a bit silly. And at least one firm is using our point as a defense, even at the expense of looking a bit inept. Plummeting prices all but prove the industry has not gotten together to reap excess profit. If anything, the industry needs to cut back production to get supply back in balance with demand. However, Goldman Sachs points out that the investigation may hinder them from doing so. Investment firm doubts in feasibility of production cut plans for panel makers, report says Panel makers may hesitate over their production cut plans in the first half of next year, as they will face a long-term investigation from justice departments in various countries, according to investment firm Goldman Sachs, as quoted by the Chinese-language Commercial Times. The hesitations may negatively impact the possibility for panel prices to rebound, the investment firm added, according to the paper. [...]