as Ranked by Financials Times in FT Global 500 (updated Dec 31, 2009)
(as represented by S&P 500 Index on November 23, 2009. Source: S&P)
United
States
The United States is a democracy in North America comprising the
largest national economy in the world. It has a
population of over 300 million. Most stocks are traded on
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and
the
NASDAQ are best represented by the S&P500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJIA).
The US is home to
almost 40% of the world's top 500 companies, include most of
the largest information technology companies.
The US Dollar is free floating, highly traded, and has the
status of the world's reserve currency. Most commodities
such as crude oil are priced in US Dollars. Monetary
policy is controlled by the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed).
