There’s no place like home

We’re supposed to be living in the era of global capital markets. So why are so many large companies cancelling their foreign listings? Nestle is the latest to do so – junking its Paris and London quotes. But it’s only one of many. IBM recently pulled out of Tokyo; a slew of Japanese companies have stopped trading on European bourses. And the UK’s ITV and O2 recently axed their US listings. One thing is clear: it’s not happening because investors are becoming more parochial. The opposite is true...