The secret empire

"The international passion for mergers and acquisitions of the last two decades is creating corporations of immense dimensions and power. The M & A torrent reshaped the world of business, locking it on an irreversible course of oligopoly. Many emerging global giants are larger and more influential than the countries in which they operate." "The Secret Empire shows how these mega-national companies create perturbing global problems. Janet Lowe explores the dangers of corporate leviathans and their ability to wrest control away from governments, manipulate the flow of currency, set prices, sway political policy, and change the fundamental nature of countries in which they do business. Lowe also tells how these corporations spread technology, medical discoveries, and other social advances throughout the world. Some even enhance world peace, since countries that have friendly trade relations and are economically linked are less likely to go to war. Many of the world's most influential companies - among them Nestle, Matsushita Electric, Daimler-Benz, Philip Morris, and Bristol Myers-Squibb - find themselves playing both roles." "The Secret Empire identifies the leading meganationals, de