Monday, June 29, 2009

The Strength of America

As we reach the midpoint of 2009 and come upon our nation’s 233rd birthday, it’s easy to understand why some people’s faith in America’s strength has been a little shaken by recent events. We’ve been suffering through a recession for a year and a half now, and our markets are so beat down that many of us have nothing to show for the past ten years of investing.

But there are also plenty of reasons to reflect upon America’s greatness at this time in our history. This has been a global recession, and if anything, our nation has survived it much better than some other areas of the world.

To take one example, our stock markets have taken a beating in recent years, but despite the recent downturns, they still dwarf those of any other nation. America’s leading stock market, the New York Stock Exchange, boasts a market value of $9.5 trillion, more than triple the value of the next largest exchange, the Tokyo Stock Market. Our second-largest stock market, the Nasdaq, is nearly as big as the largest market in the rest of the world.

The markets are only one illustration of the core strength of the American economy. It's those core strengths that will help us emerge from this downturn, and confirm our place as the leading financial engine of the world.

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