The City: London and the Global Power of Finance by Tony Norfield

Indeed: the Asian 'production miracle' of the last 30 years barely dents this power.

companies continue to dominate through global finance and corporate power. Today 147 companies exercise 'networked control' over world trade. A small number of such imperialist countries dominate world markets through multi-national corporations engaged in production, service provision and finance. It enables wealthy countries to draw on resources and value created elsewhere in the world. banks and foreign banks were allowed to operate without restriction, preserved London's pre-eminence.įor Norfield, financial privilege is a form of economic power. The Eurodollar market in the 1960s and the 'Big Bang' of the 1980s, when U.S. money markets and banks.Īfter 1945 Britain's financial sector retained its global status at the same time as its manufacturing base diminished. This contrasts to the relative weakness of U.S. London has advantages as a financial center: its time zone, the English language, and supportive professional services. GDP, the highest ratio in the world after Switzerland and Luxembourg. has six financial institutions in the top 50, compared to the U.S.

Of the top 500 global companies, the U.K. Britain has the second largest stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) - nearly $2trn - equivalent to 30 percent of U.K. in the global significance of its financial sector and in areas like foreign currency trading it leads.

Norfield's insights into the nature of capitalism's modern financial systems emphasize that finance and production are increasingly inseparable - 'they are close partners in exploitation.' He rejects any categorical division between 'bad' finance and 'good' productive capital - as this misreads the nature of imperialism and its financial centers.īritain is second only to the U.S.

He has just published The City (The City - London and the global power of finance, by Tony Norfield, is published by Verso Books), a book on British imperialism and global finance in the 21st century. Tony Norfield worked for ten years as the executive director and global head of foreign exchange for a major European bank.

The City: London and the Global Power of Finance by Tony Norfield