London and New York are the most important global financial centers in the world. Tokyo used to be considered the third global financial center, but has lost its position in the last 20 years, partly as a result of a sustained recession and partly because both Japanese society and Japanese economy are considered very closed. London and New York, of course, also represent the economic superpowers whose markets they cover—New York for the US and London not just for the UK but also for most of continental Europe. Tokyo has failed to become the Asian global financial center and is now reduced to being a very dominant national financial center of one of the world's main economies.

In the last 20 years, we have also seen the rise of many economies outside Northern America and (Western) Europe, not just in East Asia, but also in South Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Latin America. Until a few years ago, we would mostly discuss the rise of such countries as `producer economies', but one thing the financial crisis makes clear is that these economies are no longer merely industrial powers, but increasingly also financial powers. Where emerging economies in the recent past were dependent on investments from established economies, now many established economies are increasingly dependent on the financial muscle of emerging economies, in particular those in East Asia and the Middle East.

There is a major shift going on as to who owns the financial institutions. This shift was initiated in the late 1990s, intensified after the dotcom bubble exploded and is now even more prevalent as a result of the global financial crisis. For example, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, is the largest shareholder of US bank Citigroup; Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud of Kingdom Holding of Saudi Arabia the second largest. In the past, crises in `the West' often had severe consequences for `the Rest' as investors, who predominantly came from the West, would usually flee and reconcentrate on the West. Oil exporting countries as well as the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are all hit by this crisis, but this crisis generally hits the West more than the Rest. Brazil is said to have $200 bn in reserves, China $1,800 bn. Even though many of these countries, including India, are still export-dependent, they are now less export-dependent than they were 10 or 20 years ago, as their national markets have grown and trade between non-Western countries is also on the rise.

Analyst Magazine, Japanese Economy, Financial Powers, Global Financial Crisis, Brazil, Russia, India and China, BRIC Countries, Wealth Management, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Financial Powers, Asian Economies, Reverse Globalization.