A lot of it about
I AM alarmed to think that the dear old Stock Exchange has contracted Natwestitis. As we have seen, this disease can be fatal. In the incubatory stage, the patient experi- ences some discomfort. Then a new chair- man arrives and opts for a blood transfusion and a transplant. At NatWest, Sir David Rowland wanted to pay £10 billion for Legal & General and for its management. At the Exchange, Don Cruickshank planned to merge with Deutsche Borse and hand control to its plausible supremo. Both deals went down badly, and so did the patients' share prices, weakening them and lowering their powers of resistance. They were both deeply shocked, all the same, to find their systems invaded by alien entities, viruses of Scottish or of Swedish origin, threatening to take them over. This immediately proved fatal to their chief executives. Now Mr Cruickshank says that the Swedes are trying to get control of the Exchange on the cheap — at least they have offered to pay for it, unlike the Germans — and that the busi- ness has great strengths and a bright future, once he can find someone to run it. A tricky defence. NatWest's chairman told his share- holders this, word for word, but the viruses multiplied and the patient succumbed. There's a lot of it about.
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