Editors' Choice: Jack Welch and the merger that fizzled
In his two decades at the helm of General Electric, during which the market value of the company increased by more than $400 billion, Jack Welch did not of

In his two decades at the helm of General Electric, during which the market value of the company increased by more than $400 billion, Jack Welch did not often feel the sting of defeat.

Yet in the waning months of his storied career, defeat is exactly what the irascible chairman and CEO was handed when the European Commission in August staunchly rejected his company’s planned $45 billion takeover of Honeywell.