Cozy Dutch cartel is duea shock to the system

ABN Amro Holding is locked in negotiations with Barclays about creating one of the largest financi...

ABN Amro Holding is locked in negotiations with Barclays about creating one of the largest financial-services companies in the world. They may seal a deal. Or another bank may yet decide to gatecrash the party. Still, one winner is already clear: the Dutch economy. That may seem paradoxical. The political and industrial establishment of the Netherlands would be horrified at the prospect of hostile raiders and hedge funds destroying the cozy cartel of companies that form the backbone of the economy. They are wrong. A shock to the system is precisely what the Netherland...