Bishopsgate, in the City of London.

London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of three "command centres" for the global economy (along with New York City and Tokyo).^[1]. Also it has recently been announced that London now has overtake New York City to be the largest financial centre in the world.[1] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (849x1471, 370 KB) Bishopsgate, at the junction with Camomile Street and Wormwood Street, in the City of London, with Tower 42 and 99 Bishopsgate looming overhead. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (849x1471, 370 KB) Bishopsgate, at the junction with Camomile Street and Wormwood Street, in the City of London, with Tower 42 and 99 Bishopsgate looming overhead. ... Looking north from a pedestrian bridge across Bishopsgate Bishopsgate, in the heart of Londons financial district. ... Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region Greater London Status sui generis, City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product, or service – otherwise known as spam. ... The rise of technology has allowed our environment to be characterized as a global one. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Tokyo Metropolis (東京都 Tōkyō-to) is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and, unique among the prefectures, provides certain municipal services characteristic of a city. ...

As Europe's largest city economy, year-by-year, London's economy generates approximately 19% of the UK's GDP^[2] or US$418 billion in 2005; whilst the entire London metropolitan area generates approximately 30% of UK GDP or US$660 billion in 2005.^[3] Commuters from East Anglia arrive at Liverpool Street Station The London Commuter Belt or London Metropolitan Area is the name given to the built-up area surrounding and running into Greater London but not administered as part of it. ...

London shifted to a mostly service-based economy earlier than other European cities, particularly following the Second World War. London's relative success as a service industry and business centre can be attributed to a large array of factors: Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The tertiary sector of industry (also known as the service sector or the service industry) is one of the three main industrial categories of a developed economy, the others being the secondary industry (manufacturing), and primary industry (extraction such as mining, agriculture and fishing). ...

• English becoming the new lingua franca
• its former position as the capital of the British Empire
• its close relationship with the US and various countries in Asia
• its location in a central time zone that allows it to act as a bridge between US and Asian markets
• English law being the most important and most used contract law in international business
• relatively low taxes, particularly for foreigners - non-UK domiciled residents do not get taxed on their foreign earnings
• a business friendly environment (e.g. in the City of London the local government is not elected by the resident population but instead by business - the City of London is a business democracy)
• good transport infrastructure particularly its aviation industry
• a deregulated economy with little intervention by the government.

Currently, over 85% (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Another half a million employees resident in Greater London work in manufacturing and construction, almost equally divided between both.^{[citation needed]} Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... English law is a formal term of art that describes the law for the time being in force in England and Wales. ... A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that the law will enforce. ... Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region Greater London Status sui generis, City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ...

London has five major business districts: the City, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington and Lambeth & Southwark. One way to get an idea of their relative importance is to look at relative amounts of office space: Greater London had 26,721,000 m² of office space in 2001. Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region Greater London Status sui generis, City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Camden is the name of several places in the United States of America: Camden, Alabama Camden, Arkansas Camden, Delaware Camden County, Georgia Camden, Indiana Camden, Maine Camden, Michigan Camden, New Jersey Camden County, New Jersey Camden (village), New York Camden (town), New York Camden, Ohio Camden, South Carolina Camden, Tennessee... , Islington is the central district of the London Borough of Islington. ... Lambeth is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth. ... , An aerial view of the London Bridge area, with the City of London across the river. ...

A useful guide to the distribution of wealth across London is the cost of renting office space. Mayfair and St. James's are currently the most expensive areas - approximately £93.00 per sq ft per annum. ^[4] Mayfair is an area in the City of Westminster London, named after the fortnight-long May Fair that took place there from 1686 until it was banned in that location in 1764. ... St Jamess is an area of west central London, England. ...

London's largest industry remains finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments.^[5] The City is home to banks, brokers, insurers and legal and accounting firms. A second, smaller financial district is developing at Canary Wharf to the east of the City which includes the global headquarters of HSBC, Reuters, Barclays and many of the largest law firms in the world. London handled 31% of global currency transactions in 2005 — an average daily turnover of US$753 billion — with more US dollars traded in London than New York, and more Euros traded than in every other city in Europe combined.^{[6] [7]} A financial export is a business service provided by a domestic firm (regardless of ownership) to a foreign firm within the scope of financial services. ... The balance of payments is a measure of the payments that flow from one exports and imports of goods, services, and financial capital, as well financial transfers. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... HSBC Holdings plc (LSE: HSBA, SEHK: 0005, NYSE: HBC, Euronext: HSBC, BSX: 1077223879) is one of the largest banking groups in the world, ranked the fifth-largest company in the world in Forbes Global 2000. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... Barclays Bank is the fourth largest bank in the United Kingdom. ... A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. ... In the foreign exchange market and international finance, a world currency or global currency refers to a currency in which the vast majority of international transactions take place and which serves as the worlds primary reserve currency. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... NY redirects here. ... The Greek name for the rainy, stormy southeast wind. ...

The headquarters of Reuters, the world's largest news agency.

More than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies are headquartered in central London. Over 70% of the FTSE 100 are located within London's metropolitan area, and 75% of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2632x2112, 2714 KB) The Reuters Building at 30 South Colonnade in Canary Wharf, London File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Reuters Metadata This file contains additional information... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2632x2112, 2714 KB) The Reuters Building at 30 South Colonnade in Canary Wharf, London File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Reuters Metadata This file contains additional information... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... The Financial Times Stock Exchange Index of 100 Leading Shares, or FTSE 100 Index (pronounced footsie), is a share index of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. ... The Fortune 500 is a ranking of the top 500 United States corporations as measured by gross revenue. ...

Along with professional services, media companies are concentrated in London (see Media in London) and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.^[8] The BBC is a key employer, other broadcasters also have headquarters around the city. Many national newspapers are edited in London, having traditionally been associated with Fleet Street in the City, they are now dispersed across the capital. Soho is the centre of London's post-production industry. Professional Services are infrequent, technical, or unique functions performed by independent contractors or consultant whose occupation is the rendering of such services. ... London is a major international communications centre with a virtually unrivalled number of media outlets. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... // Traditionally newspapers could be split into quality, serious-minded newspapers (usually referred to as broadsheets due to their large size) and tabloid, less serious newspapers. ... Fleet Street in 2005 Fleet Street is a famous street in London, England, named after the River Fleet. ... Cast-iron architecture in Greene Street SoHo is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... Post production is the general term for the last stage of film production in which photographed scenes (also called footage) are put together into a complete film. ...

Tourism is one of London's prime industries and employed the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003^[9], whilst annual expenditure by tourists is around £15bn.^[10] London is a popular destination for tourists, attracting 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year, second only to Paris.^[11] London is an important hub for tourists, and the city is home to an array tourist attractions. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

From being the largest port in the world, the Port of London is now only the third-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 50 million tonnes of cargo each year.^[12] Most of this actually passes through Tilbury, outside the boundary of Greater London. The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames in London, England. ... A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ... Tilbury is located on the north bank of the River Thames, in the borough of Thurrock in England, at the point where the river suddenly narrows to about 800 yards/740 metres in width. ... Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. ...

The Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg has recently said the reason for New York's possible loss as world financial capital to London has been due, in part, to Britain's more easy going regulatory, legal and immigration systems. For a list of the Dutch Director-Generals who governed New Amsterdam (as New York City was called when it was a Dutch-run settlement) between 1624 and 1664, see: Director-General of New Netherland. ...

Artists impression of the London skyline in 2012

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 148 pixelsFull resolution (2937 × 545 pixel, file size: 401 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The future London skyline. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 148 pixelsFull resolution (2937 × 545 pixel, file size: 401 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The future London skyline. ...

See also

• London
• Economy of Europe

This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The economy of Europe comprises more than 710 million people in 48 different states. ...

References

1. ^ Sassen, Saskia (2001). The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo, 2nd edition, Princeton University Press. 
2. ^ "London's Place in the UK Economy, 2005-6"PDF (960 KiB), p8, Oxford Economic Forecasting on behalf of the Corporation of London. (Figure uses 2002 prices.). Published November 2005. Accessed 19 June 2006.
3. ^ "The Economic Positioning of Metropolitan Areas in North Western Europe", The Institute for Urban Planning and Development of the Paris Ile-de-France Region, December 2002.]]
4. ^ "Office Costs In London: Office Rental Guide", FindaLondonOffice, 15 Nov 2006. URL accessed on 30 Dec 2006.
5. ^ "Financial Services", UK Trade & Investment, 11 May 2006. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.
6. ^ "Triennial Central Bank Survey"PDF (259 KiB), Bank for International Settlements, March 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.
7. ^ "Key facts", Corporation of London. URL accessed on 19 June 2006.
8. ^ "London's Place in the UK Economy, 2005-6"PDF (960 KiB), p19, Oxford Economic Forecasting on behalf of the Corporation of London. Published November 2005. Accessed 19 June 2006.
9. ^ "London is the HR centre of opportunity in the UK", PersonnelToday.com, 15 February 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.
10. ^ "The Importance of Tourism in London", Visit London. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.
11. ^ "London 101: One Hundred and One Amazing Facts About London"PDF, Visit London. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.
12. ^ "Trade Statistics", Port of London Authority, Annual Report and Accounts 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.