Trod lands in soup

SAN FRANCISCO: An owner of a British company is facing a charge in federal court in San Francisco that he conspired to fix the price of posters sold online through Amazon Marketplace. An indictment unsealed on Thursday charges Daniel William Aston and his company, Trod Ltd, with felony price fixing. Prosecutors say Aston and co-conspirators agreed to adopt specific pricing algorithms for certain posters to try to make sure they were sold online at the same price and to coordinate any price changes. A Justice Department antitrust division Spokesman, Mark Abueg, said officials declined additional comment because the investigation was still pending.