, Columnist
Singapore Dreams of Its Own J.P. Morgan
E-commerce is a winner-take-all derby, and finding the right horse to back is often a matter of dumb luck.
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There are no new ideas in banking -- no equivalents of flying cars, or even 20-foot containers. The revolutionary thinking in finance is usually dusted off from the archives. Singapore's plan to let bankers play businessmen is no different.
That's what J.P. Morgan was: a banker-businessman who created U.S. Steel and controlled railroad pricing. Now, the city-state wants its guardians of other people's money to engage in "permissible non-financial businesses" up to 10 percent of their shareholder funds. What should investors make of this back-to-the-future move?