Broken mould-breakers

摘要

How about these for three symbols of the changes in German capitalism in the past few years? First, the eagerness with which small shareholders, 3m of them, snapped up shares in Deutsche Telekom, the former state-owned telecoms monopoly. Second, the rise of the Neuer Markt, Frankfurt's market for "growth" stocks. And third, last year's stunning takeover of Mannesmann, a telecoms and engineering firm and a grand old name of German business, by Britain's Vodafone.