New York loses out in world financial markets

The issue is clearly exercising the minds of top politicians and business chiefs in the US. According to the Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is much concerned with the problem, and a key committee has also been set up under the chairmanship of former Bush economist Glenn Hubbard to investigate it.

The US is still, by far, the biggest financial centre in the world with a total financial stock of $51 trillion compared to $38 trillion in Europe, $20 trillion in Japan and $13 trillion in Asian countries excluding Japan. However the growth of financial stock in the US, 6.5 percent, is considerably lower compared with 8.4 percent in Europe, 7.5 percent in Japan and 15.5 percent in the rest of Asia. “Overall, the figures suggest that Europe is steadily

assuming a more dominant position in the world’s financial markets,” the report warns.

It is where the growth is taking place that particularly concerns the writers of the report, who note that in the crucial areas of investment banking and sales and trading businesses, the total revenue in Europe is practically on a level with the US.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2007/feb2007/newy-f12.shtml