London Falling

Reports of the death of the New York financial markets have been greatly exaggerated.

Figures compiled by Dealogic show that for the first time since 2003, New York has topped London in the amount of money raised through initial public offerings.

Sure, the sheer number of new listings on London exchanges still bests those on the Nasdaq market and the New York Stock Exchange. But the tally of London I.P.O.'s declined for the second consecutive year, while New York's numbers continue to climb.

More promising still is the fact that while London/AIM, Euronext, and Hong Kong markets all posted a decrease in total cash raised in 2007 I.P.O.s, New York managed its second increase in two years.

There is, of course, room for improvement in the United States capital markets. New York is capturing a mere 18 percent share of global deal volume, down from 52 percent in 2001; and London attracted more than twice the cash New York did from foreign I.P.O.s this year, according to the Financial Times.

But Wall Street has not shriveled up and drifted away, as doomsday pundits seemed to suggest it would in the wake of the 2002 passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which intensified accounting controls for public companies.

Maturing global markets continue to siphon off business from the NY.S.E. and Nasdaq, but it seems some companies are still willing to tolerate the expense and tedium of listing in New York.

Liz Gunnison