Engine failure

WHEN he proudly announced the intended $42 billion merger of General Electric (GE) and Honeywell last October, Jack Welch, GE's chairman, made two serious errors of judgment. First, he underestimated the risk that regulators might balk at such a powerful combination. Ironically, it was the European Commission's antitrust team led by Mario Monti that eventually derailed the all-American transaction. On July 3rd, Mr Monti confirmed that he would not allow the deal to proceed, an outcome that had appeared increasingly likely in recent weeks.