Telling you something you already know...

...about how the press thinks about things, as found in the January 15 New York Times.

J. P. Morgan Chase agreed yesterday to acquire Bank One for $58 billion in stock in a deal that would realign the competitive landscape for banks and create a true rival to Citigroup.

The article is replete with joyful noises from the new partners about the "right mix" and reducing "volatility in earnings." It devotes a long paragraph to how the deal is "a Wall Street homecoming of sorts - and possibly a form of redemption" for the CEO of Bank One. Meanwhile:

The merger is expected to result in the elimination of about 10,000 jobs as part of J. P. Morgan's effort to save $2.2 billion over three years. The cuts will be concentrated in retail banking, and the greatest number may be in the New York area because the retail banking operation is to be run from Bank One's base in Chicago. ...

For retail customers, there will be few immediate changes.

That's it. All of it. That's the entire consideration of effects on those outside of the corporate elite and institutional shareholders. The loss of 10,000 jobs tossed off in two sentences, the effect on consumers in one. Just not nearly as important as some fat cat corporate executive's "homecoming."

The article notes this is part of a continuing wave of mergers in the banking industry. With these kinds of outcomes, one wonders who is going to have the money to put in one of their fancy consumer-friendly accounts.