- United States: the American Trade Department has announced that foreign investments "clearly moved away from the United states in 2001", direct investments falling by over 60% in relation to the previous year. Direct investment, in the form of acquisitions or the creation of new companies in the United States fell to $132.94 bn, or 60.4% down on the record 335.63 bn recorded in 2000. It was the Canadian investors who proved to be the less nervous, with $16.93 bn in direct investments...