Why do people get angrier about some corporate scandals than others? Barclays’ attempted Libor manipulation was disgraceful, but GlaxoSmithKline’s behaviour was surely far worse.
Barclays traders tried to subvert the London interbank offered rate and Euribor, its continental European equivalent. Given that many financial contracts rely on these as benchmarks, this could have had serious consequences, although no one is quite sure who suffered.
By contrast the victims of GSK’s crimes are clear: the children whose doctors prescribed Paxil, an antidepressant, while GSK hid research that showed the drug caused suicidal feelings and behaviour in some minors who took it.