Wal-Mart, Carrefour fined for deceptive pricing in China

China’s National Development and Reform Commission meted out fines to Wal-Mart (WMT.NYSE) and Carrefour (CA.EPA) for deceptive pricing practices at a small number of their stores across the country, the Wall Street Journal reported. The commission will fine 19 stores, charging them US$76,000 each for pricing fraud, amounting to a combined US$1.4 million in penalties. The NDRC said in late January that the stores had forced customers to pay higher prices than indicated on price tags and inflated the size of discounts by altering the original pricing. The two retailers make up a small fraction of China’s total retail market, but remain two of the largest retailers in the country.