Antitrust and Trade Regulation laws aim to promote free competition in the marketplace. Agreements or cooperative efforts by two or more entities that affects or restrains competitors is illegal under these laws. The Sherman Act makes illegal any contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce and makes monopolies and attempts, combinations, or conspiracies to monopolize illegal. The Clayton Act regulate price discrimination, tying and exclusive dealing contracts, stock acquisition and interlocking directorates.
Columbus is a city in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States on the Tombigbee River. It is approximately 282 kilometers (175 mi) northeast of Jackson, 193 kilometers (120 mi) north of Meridian, 102 kilometers (63 mi) south of Tupelo, 60 Miles Northwest of Tuscaloosa, AL, and 198 kilometers (123 mi) west of Birmingham, AL . The population was 25,944 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lowndes County and the principal city of the Columbus Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Columbus-West Point Combined Statistical Area. Columbus is also part of the area of Northeast MS called The Golden Triangle, consisting of Columbus, West Point, and Starkville, in the counties of Lowndes, Clay, and Oktibbeha.