Instead of slackening, though, antitrust enforcement strengthened in the 1970s. Already-strict rules governing new acquisitions started to be applied to companies like IBM and AT&T, which had grown organically. In other words, the bargain went only one way. At the same time, a downshift in military spending and the space program eliminated a big, price-insensitive customer for new products. Completing the trifecta of bad news, higher oil prices damaged hydrocarbon-reliant companies like Du Pont and pressed inflation upward.
