Jeremy Hobson: Now it’s time to dissect the numbers with a quiz about
global stock markets, so let’s bring in our quizmaster Stephen Richter. He’s editor-in-chief at TheGlobalist.com. Good morning.

Stephan Richter: Good morning, Jeremy. Are you ready for today’s quiz?

Hobson: I am ready.

Richter: All right. Everybody knows Wall Street, and we also hear every morning when we wake up or when we go to bed about the stock markets in other countries — Germany, U.K., China.

What about our home market? What percentage of the world’s total stock market capitalization — all stocks’ value — still is in the United States today? Is it A) 70 percent; B) is it just about half, that would be 50 percent; C) a little under half, say 40 percent; or D) at this time, just a quarter, 25 percent, the way markets have gone down of course?

Hobson: OK, well I am going to go with just about half. I think in the financial markets, we’re still, I would say 50 percent.

Buzz

Richter: You’re close but not quite right. Fifty percent is a little too high, actually, and if the flight to safety continues, of course, out of emerging markets and ironically into the U.S. dollar — not that we feel so safe here these days — then it would be 50 percent. But that’s not where we’re at anymore. That’s a little in history.

Hobson: Then I’ve got to go with C) a little under half, 40 percent.

Ding

Richter: That is absolutely correct. We are at 40 percent. But here’s my bonus question, for you: That 40 percent — is that higher or the same level as what the U.S. in a totally different but important field, global defense spending accounts, for? Is our stock market share globally in line with our defense share?

Hobson: No way, Stefan — we’ve got to be probably about 70 percent with our defense!

Buzz

Richter: Not quite. Stock market capitalization, the U.S. share of global defense spending — both are around 40 percent, which makes it pretty astounding in terms of a world of parallels.

Hobson: Stefan Richter is the editor-in-chief of The Globalist. We’ll see you next time, Stefan.

Richter: All right, bye bye.