The corporate world in Europe has faced a wave of new challenges and undergone some dramatic changes over the last decade. Increased globalization, trade liberalization, the advent of the European Union, the introduction of the euro and the deregulation of capital markets are all factors that have resulted in more global and demanding financial markets than ever before.
At the push of a button, or at least after a brief phone call, global investors can purchase or sell stakes in companies in seconds, building or reshuffling portfolios in all corners of the globe. News agencies with thousands of employees wire out company results seconds after they have been made public to hundreds of thousands of financial decision-makers all over the world. …