“Sounds like the K-Mart/Sears merger all over again.....”
I don’t think so. I think both are companies that are and would be strong enough and viable without the merger. I think Capital is the one who would gain the most, and I think it is not necassary merger for Discover. It’s toally a “Wall Street enginered” merger 100% for the benefit not so much to Discover, the company, but just Discover’s stockholders.
Capital could without any merger with anyone, begin changing its portfolio of customers and become less dominant in the lower credit rating customers. I think that would even be cheaper than the merger with Discover.
I am not a free enterprise thinking person who automatically thinks there is never anything wrong with “bigger”.
Yes, consumer prices should reflect what an industry can do best to hold them down, but it can be asked “hold them down to what”. The forty+ year race focused 100% on just “holding consumer prices down” emptied the U.S. of many industries and built up China as an industrial powerhouse.
Cheaper everything does not necessarily mean better in the long run. Jobs, having jobs, is every bit as important.
Yes, jobs, how many layoffs when the final shakeout happens.....................