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.
Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. Established as a suburb of Olympia, Lacey's estimated population as of 2009 was 39,250, as compared to 43,900 for Olympia. Thurston County, which includes the cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater, has a population of 239,355 as of the 2009 census.