After seven years, the program provides strong evidence that more consumer choice and competition controls costs and benefits consumers.

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Nokia, which is the global market share leader for cell phones, lowered its average selling prices more than expected to defend that share from strong competition.

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There's a strong view around Westminster that the banking sector could do with more players and tougher competition between them.

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Large apartment REITs reported strong rental growth, but they face a looming slowdown in growth because of rising competition and more people owning homes.

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At the same time, rising competition from low-cost manufacturers coupled with a strong yen - which makes Japanese goods more expensive - has also hit their competitiveness.

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He thinks the competition will force both sides to be more aggressive in their pursuit of gathering evidence and building a strong case.

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Mr Prodi may well find that his ambitions for a strong commission lead him to collide more often with national governments, in such matters as the single market, competition and foreign affairs.

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Consolidation among providers would seem a logical step in dealing with strong competition as it generally lowers costs, but it remains to be seen if CTL has bitten off more than it can chew in such a short amount of time.

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