a one-time fine doesn't change the business decisions involved in optimal pricing. it doesn't change supply or demand in any way.
if it makes sense to increase prices *for completely unrelated reasons*, then a spiteful and unrepentant ceo will certainly use the fine as an excuse to raise prices, disguising the real reasons.
among the main reason that the fines are bullshit is that they need to greatly exceed the profit from wrongdoing to even remotely provide any deterrent effect. even when they seem large, they're still small compared to the profit and the likelihood of having to actually pay a fine. and most companies won't keep that much cash; they'll dividend it out to shareholders or otherwise spend it long before the government can impose a fine that large. that way, even if the government were to have the stones to impose and enforce a fine that would actually shutter the businesses, the investors still made a profit on the misdeeds.
as it is, these fines merely amount to the government saying to the crooks, "well done, just give us our cut and keep right on doing what you do oh so well!"
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