Probably, its effect will be gradual: people may try to rebuild their savings rather than spending all their gains, competition from low-cost China and India will help limit wage gains, and firms scarred by the past 15 years are unlikely to embark upon an investment and hiring binge.
Both are having an annus horribilis as pay television relentlessly gains share and competition from all quarters increases.
Operators must retain the freedom to choose how to finance transport services, as long as they do so transparently and fairly with funds that have been gained from free competition in a liberalised market, and not by means of a special allocation secured by, say, regulation or monopoly.
"I've admired Jacob's all-round qualities for some time now and his Twenty20 experience, which he has gained from global competitions, is a major plus factor," added Worcestershire coach Steve Rhodes.
"Our market share is in the 40% -plus area," says Heinz Chief Executive Tony O'Reilly, "and we've actually gained market share, despite competition from Del Monte, Hunt-Wesson and, of course, the ubiquitous private-label brands".
Fortressing could also prevent competition from gaining traction in the market.
The move was meant to help PayPal gain traction among increasing competition from rival mobile payment solutions, including Apple Pay, not to mention the growing number of stores offering their own digital wallets, including Starbucks, Wal-Mart, CVS, Kohl's and others.
Passive investors hold the same portfolio of stocks as their competing index funds (and largely compete on fee minimization), so they may stand to gain less from competition reduction among portfolio firms which equally benefits asset managers against whom they compete.
Small boutique investment banks and hedge funds, both of which are exempted from the limits on bonuses, will probably gain from reduced competition.Ironically, the new rules may also make investment banking even riskier for investors.
If you think you know your competition from intelligence gained last year, think again.
