30 MAY 1998, Page 26

The numbers game

Sir: Mark Steyn's new economic rule — any business, there's only room for three major players, plus a few piffling "niche servers" ' — is absolute codswallop (`Three's company', 16 May). Does it applY to corporations or to brands? Does it applY to service companies or only manufactur- ers? Does it apply nationally, regionally or globally? As a publication, you might have started by questioning whether it applies in pub- lishing. Indeed you might have wondered whether it applies in more than a handful of businesses at all.

Ironically, having stated his Rule of Three, Steyn then goes on to note that 01 the USA there are four broadcasting net- works, of which three are trading at a loss. So perhaps that should be his Rule of Three: in any business there is only morn for four major players, of which three will lose money.

Winston Fletcher

15 Montpelier Square, London SW7