EU imposes record fine on large firms

BRUSSELS - Reuters

AFP photo

The European Commission imposed the biggest antitrust penalty in its history yesterday, fining six firms including Philips, LG Electronics and Panasonic a total of 1.47 billion euros ($1.92 billion) for running two cartels for nearly a decade.

The Commission said executives from the European and Asian companies met until six years ago to fix prices and divide up markets for TV and computer monitor cathode-ray tubes, technology now mostly made obsolete by flat screens.

Between 1996 and 2006 they met in Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and in Asia for “green meetings”, so-called because they often ended in a round of golf.