By Simon Johnson
Just over 100 years ago, as the nineteenth century drew to a close, big business in America was synonymous with productivity, quality, and success. “Economies of scale” meant that big railroads and big oil companies could move cargo and supply energy cheaper than their smaller competitors and, consequently, became even larger.
But there also proved to be a dark side to size and in the first decade of the 20th century mainstream opinion turned sharply against big business for three reasons.
First, the economic advantages of bigness were not as great as claimed. In many cases big firms did well because they used unfair tactics to crush their competition. John D. Rockefeller became the poster child for these problems.
Second, even well-run businesses became immensely powerful politically as they grew. J.P. Morgan was without doubt the greatest financier of his day. But when he put together Northern Securities – a vast railroad monopoly – he became a menace to public welfare, and more generally his grip on corporations throughout the land was, by 1910, widely considered excessive. Continue reading
JP Morgan Responds To Financial Reform: The Poison Pill Strategy
By Simon Johnson
While the financial reform negotiation process grinds to its meaningless conclusion, the real action lies elsewhere – in Jamie Dimon’s executive suite.
Dimon, the head of JP Morgan Chase, is apparently seeking to (a) become more global, (b) move further into emerging markets, and (c) become more like Citigroup.
This is terrific corporate strategy – and very dangerous for the rest of us. Continue reading →
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Tagged Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan