The Economist Business Friends and rivals Two cities that are popular business centres

New York and London are cities that are popular locations for international companies. They are good business locations because they have many things that organisations look for when they want to open a new office abroad. Both cities have good transport connections with the rest of the world. They have large international airports. They also have good telecommunications, strong legal systems, skilled workers and famous financial institutions (the Stock Exchange in London and Wall Street in New York). There are also things in both cities for employees to do after work restaurants, theatres, cinemas and nightclubs.

Many organisations open international offices in one of these cities. For example, Nomura, a big Japanese bank, employs about 1,400 people in London, with another 400 in 12 other offices across Europe. Of its 1,200 staff in the USA, 90 percent are in New York.

People who work in London complain about the price of property and also about crowded roads, trains and buses. New York is also busy and expensive. But financial executives from different countries stil want to work in London and New York. This is because the Stock Exchange is the world's most international money market and London is close to the rest of Europe. Wall Street is the biggest money market in the world and New York City is home to six of the world's ten biggest investment firns.

London and New York are competitors in the financial market, but they have different strengths. Both remain popular locations with international organisations.