Allied Industries Is a Manufacturer of Basic Building Materials Like

Multiple Choice

Allied Industries is a manufacturer of basic building materials like ready mix concrete, aggregates, and other construction material. It sells its products primarily to three large real estate companies. One of these companies, Cicada Corporation, has asked for a huge discount for future orders. Allied's CEO feels that this may be a good move to retain a customer, but many senior managers think otherwise. Assume that Allied has required Cicada to not handle any of Allied's competitors' products. Which of the following most strongly suggests that this arrangement is legal?

A) The pricing demands of Cicada have forced many building suppliers out of business.
B) Companies similar to Allied have demonstrated strong financial performance in recent years.
C) Cicada often sells groups of homes to institutions that then resell them to individual consumers.
D) In the past, Cicada and Allied were part of the same company.
E) Monopolistic competition is encouraged by the government in some cases.