There is a bad smell hanging over a number of powerful American companies
stand out about business in America today. One is how successful American firms are: they account for 57 of the world’s 100 most valuable listed firms. The other is the bad smell hanging over a number of powerful companies.planes with dangerous software. It says it is “taking actions to fully ensure the safety of the 737”. Criminal charges have been filed against Goldman Sachs in Malaysia for its role in arranging $6.5bn of debt for a state-run fund that engaged in fraud.
America is no stranger to corporate scandals. In the 19th century abattoirs sold rotten meat. In the 1960s Detroit made cars that were “unsafe at any speed”, in the words of Ralph Nader, a consumer-rights crusader. In the 1990s tobacco and asbestos claims led to legal settlements that have cost shareholders over $150bn. Accounting scandals erupted at WorldCom, Enron and Tyco in the early 2000s, and by the mid-2000s mortgage fraud was endemic.
For critics of capitalism none of this will be a surprise. They argue that firms controlled by private shareholders are especially unethical. Yet it is easy to poke holes in this. Volkwagen cheated on emissions tests even though it is part-owned by the German state and has workers on its board. Despite Sweden’s cuddly “stakeholder” capitalism, Swedbank faces a criminal investigation for money-laundering.
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