Respone following questions ( total 150 words)

1. Based on the Reliable Acorn website, the most competitive industries in 2021 include grocery stores, gas stations, and insurance companies. For instance, Walmart and Amazon are competing in sales. Walmart sales counted $433.90 while Amazon sales counted $236.28 in 2020-2021. Other examples include shells vs chevron and state farm vs Geico.

2. The U.S. markets that operate as monopolies or near-monopolies in the U.S. include providers of water, natural gas, telecommunications, and electricity. Utilities such as water and electricity are examples of natural monopolies because the production cost restricts competition in the market. Electricity production is a capital-intensive operation that can edge out potential firms due to the associated costs.

3. In my opinion, I disagree if Apple and Amazon decided to merge because it would most likely affect the rates for computers and technology. I think the price will get higher since the merger would create a monopoly on the industry. It will cause confusion as well since Apple used IOS as their software system while Microsoft stands with their own system. So do IHOP and Dennys since their increased market share can lead to monopoly power and higher prices for consumers. The larger firm may experience diseconomies of scale (harder to communicate and coordinate.) A merger can lead to job losses. This is a particular cause for concern if it is an aggressive takeover by an "asset stripping" company.