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SO HOW?S THAT STIMULUS THING GOING? Fortune magazine recently reported that the number of U.S. co?

By Glenn Reynolds

SO HOW’S THAT STIMULUS THING GOING?

Fortune magazine recently reported that the number of U.S. companies in the world?s top 500 fell to the lowest level ever, while more Chinese firms than ever before made the list. Thirty-seven Chinese companies now rank in the top 500, including nine new entries. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. firms has fallen to 140, the lowest total since Fortune began the list in 1995. This is not good.

China also surpassed the U.S. as the world?s biggest automaker in the first half of 2009, with June sales soaring 36.5 percent from a year earlier. The Chinese registered 6.1 million car sales for the first half of the year. That way outpaced American sales, which were only 4.8 million. . . .

Here?s the clincher: Year-to-date, Dow Jones stocks are off 7 percent, while China stocks are up 71 percent. The world index is up 4 percent. Emerging markets are up 25 percent. They?re all beating us. None of this is good.

Hope and change!

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on July 11, 2009 (boomark / email).