The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) reports in an article on trends and recent developments in foreign direct investment (FDI) (to be published in September 2002 in a new OECD publication) that between 2000 and 2001, FDI flows into and out of OECD countries recorded their largest drop in recent decades after reaching record levels in 2000. FDI fell by 56% in 2001 ($566 bn) on 2000 ($1274 bn). "The total amount of FDI in 2000 stood at an all-time historical high, at almost six times the levels recorded only five years earlier so the changes in 2001, rather than a seminal decline in international investment flows, appear to have marked a correction toward more sustainable levels, following what could arguably have been an "investment bubble" in 1999 and 2000" notes the OECD, caused by an apparent over-evaluation of the stock markets in telecoms and high tech. Record share hikes inflated cash flow and companies' purchasing capacity while encouraging sales, but this trend has been reversed today. Telecoms companies topped the merger and acquisition chart in 2001, but have barely featured so far in 2002. Some of the most salient aspects of the report: 1) the slowdown mainly hit the biggest economies; 2) the situation varies widely from country to country with Germany and Belgium/Luxembourg seeing the sharpest drops with only $31.8 bn FDI in 2001, compared with $195.2 bn in 2000 for Germany and $51 bn compared with $243.3 bn for Belgium/Luxembourg, nearly an 80% drop; 3) despite "normal" falls, the biggest recipient of FDI remains the US with $130.8 bn (compared with $307.7 bn in 2001); 4) the UK also receives a huge amount of FDI, receiving $53.8 bn in 2001 compared with $119.7 bn in 2000 but has been overtaken by the Netherlands which received $55.6 bn as against $54.3 bn in 2000), with France hot on its heels with a considerable rise in FDI in 2001, receiving $52.6 bn compared with $ 42.9 bn in 2000; 5) FDI flows from OECD countries to the rest of the world halved to $593 bn in 2001 compared with $1286 bn in 2000; 6) in the light of current changes, taking account of information received about mergers and acquisitions (vital for calculating investment flows), in the first six months of 2002 FDI flows into OECD countries are expected to fall by 20 to 25%.