about

About this site

This site is an attempt to make sense of the business pages in the newspaper, particularly the stories about mergers and acquisitions.  I am developing a theory about how and why big companies keep growing bigger, and some of the dynamics behind their moves.

Note that my book, Market Domination, is now avilable through Amazon.  It deals with some of the same themes as this Web site, but in a more organized format.

Note that this bookAre oligopolies sinister? Very possibly. But I think it's more useful to see how and why they work than simply rail against globalism and greed. While there are hatefully crooked businessmen (take any set of former Enron or Tyco executives for a start), most oligopolies are based on struggles for survival, not a result of  innate evil. Like  those proverbial sharks moving forward, businesses either grow or fail, and since most mature markets have limited growth potential, companies often grow by buying other companies. If nothing else, it's fascinating to see how they do it.

Steve Hannaford
Mail: hannaford@comcast.net