Prophets and predictors : 9. 1750–1850: the shape of the future

This is the last in a series of articles exploring the prophetical prediction in history. With increasing stress on scientific rationality the utopists became specialists and Utopian anticipation a study of forthcoming social changes. This development will be the subject of a new series prepared by I.F. Clarke, “From Prophecy to Prediction: 1798–2001”, which begins in the next issue.     

Erratum: In memoriam: Philip St. John Smart, 1961–2008

The article above (DOI: 10.1002/iir.167 ) was published in IIR18:1on pages 1–4.The article was attributed in error to Harold Hsiao‐Wo Lee. Harold Hsiao‐Wo Lee is the name of the Chair that Philip St. John Smart held at the University of Hong Kong.The correct attribution should have been to two authors only: AndrewJ. Halyard of the University ofHong Kong, Hong Kong and Charles D. Booth of the University of Hawaii, USA.We apologise to Andrew J. Halyard and Charles D. Booth for this oversight.     

Post‐Merger Performance of Bank Holding Companies, 1987–1998

This paper examines the results of material mergers between bank holding companies (BHCs). Merged BHCs experience post‐merger profitability below the industry average. The market reaction to the merger announcements is significantly negative. The most important causes of the poor post‐merger performance are credit quality and the inadequate generation of fee income. Asset mix and capitalization also play a major part. The controllability of these items demonstrates the management challenge associated with a material merger.