Quotes of the Day

It's one thing to be attacked by Jack Welch and quite another to be savaged by the European Court of First Instance. That's what Mario Monti, the E.U.'s competition Commissioner, is discovering. Monti famously withstood pressure from Welch, the former General Electric chairman, when the E.U. last year blocked GE's $43 billion acquisition of Honeywell. But last week Monti took a one-two punch from Bo Vesterdorf, president of the Luxembourg-based Court, in separate rulings that savaged the "errors, omissions and contradictions in the Commission's economic reasoning." The court overturned vetoes blocking two mergers: Schneider Electric's purchase of Legrand and a deal between packaging firms Tetra Laval and Sidel. In June it threw out another case involving two travel firms. The rulings "heaped on the pressure for a change," says Alec Burnside of the law firm Linklaters. And Monti quickly responded by announcing reforms that he hoped would "recover the trust" of the business community by softening his hard-line policies and bringing companies more intimately into his Commission's process. As a possible preview, Monti's crew allowed Carnival cruise line's acquisition of P&O to sail through without trouble. But the big question is whether the E.U. will put down the anchor on the commission's sweeping powers altogether.

INTERNET SECURITY
The Web Gets Whacked
It didn't have a cool name like Bugbear, and it didn't loot any bank accounts. In fact, most Internet users never noticed anything, yet authorities called it the worst digital attack in history when hackers bypassed normal corporate targets last week and went straight after nine of the 13 servers that make up the Internet's backbone. The global attack — already under investigation by the F.B.I. — was simple but well-coordinated and potentially crippling; massive amounts of data deluged servers, blocking legitimate traffic. And although the infrastructure proved reassuringly resilient, worse attacks are likely. The number of digital attacks has doubled from last year, regularly hitting new monthly records and doing $32-39 billion in damage in 2002. According to security experts MI2G, these attacks coincide with a sharp upturn in politically disgruntled groups taking terrorism online. It's too early to say if this attack was political, but it was a reminder that hackers wouldn't need a big bang to cause a big economic shock.

THE BOURSE
Into The Fire
Once considered a life preserver, last week asbestos helped nearly kill engineering giant ABB. Asbestos litigation has markets reeling — 200,000 suits are pending, up to 2.5 million are expected, and final costs could hit $200 billion. But asbestos liabilities aren't ABB's only problem, just the latest, cancerous attack. Once Europe's superstar answer to GE, in the last two years ABB has been undermined by a ceo pay debacle, $5.5 billion in debt and falling demand for its products. The stock dropped 90% from its peak, then plunged another 65% last week. For a finale the company announced a $183 million loss and a restructuring plan that may cut 40,000 jobs. This convalescence will be neither short, pleasant nor guaranteed.

INDICATORS
Sultans Of Spin
Months after U.S. investigations began, Britain's Financial Services Authority launched an inquiry into "spinning" — the investment bank practice of doling out shares in hot IPOs to win more business from top executives. The first sleuthing step was writing firms to ask if they routinely spin shares. How could the guilty ever escape that trap?

China Gains on U.S. Pains
In a year when foreign direct investment has plunged about 27% worldwide, China is expected to buck the trend with a record influx of over $50 billion. Indeed, new U.N. forecasts say China will pass the U.S. for the first time as the top recipient of foreign investment.

Speedy Little Pill
The European Parliament struck down an industry-backed measure that some feared would allow consumer advertising. But that medicine came with a spoonful of sugar: a bill to create the world's quickest drug approvals, cutting the wait from 18 months to about seven.

Goodbye, Herbal Viagra?
Unsolicited e-mail, or spam, is such a scourge that now even spammers are trying to stop it. The Direct Marketing Association, which once fought for e-mail advertising, is now lobbying the U.S. government to introduce restrictions.

BOTTOM LINES
"I had tennis on my mind and, now and then, girls."
Boris Becker, tennis champion, explaining his failure to pay taxes after a German court fined him €500,000

"As unpopular as this is to say now, a lot of analysts are pretty good."
Chuck Clough, CEO of Clough Capital Partners, showing how analysts' newfound caution extends even to praise of themselves

"They know that a certain number of morons will succeed under any system by pure chance."
Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic, on why statisticians don't write management books

• BLAINE GRETEMAN
• Monti Feels the Revenge of the Merged