Amazon e-book prices: Good news ... for now

When the Justice Department filed suit against Apple and five major book publishers alleging e-book price fixing, the government hawked it as a triumph for consumers. The other champ, of course, was Amazon -- which called the legal action "a big win for Kindle owners."

The book giant also said it looked forward to lowering prices on more Kindle titles, as a result of settlement deals that two book publishers cut with the DOJ. If Amazon is able to dial back its e-book pricing to $9.99 across the board, rivals who can't afford to forgo profit will have a tough time competing. And while that may sound like great news for Kindle readers, some worry that Amazon will become a de facto monopoly that could eventually have enough power to raise prices as it sees fit -- or play hardball with publishers who are left with no other options.