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.
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of Jackson on Tallahala Creek, Laurel was founded in 1882 as a lumber town. An American Indian reservation is located in nearby Sandersville. Laurel is the principal city of the Laurel Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its major employers include Howard Industries, Sanderson Farms, Masonite Corporation, Family Health Center, Howse Implement, Thermo-Kool and South Central Regional Medical Center. Laurel is home to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art (Mississippi's oldest art museum).