Economic and financial crisis upsets capitalisation hierarchy. - Based on data published by Bloomberg and re-analysed by Fidelity, Les Echos claims that the economic and financial crisis has upset the capitalisation hierarchy. Data provided on the largest international groups illustrates that in terms of dollar capitalisation, only eleven firms in October 2007's “Top 20” were still there a year later. The main victims of the crisis, which has been characterised by a sharp rise in risk aversion and a fall in share prices, are the big names in developing countries. Although a third of the 20 main global capitalisations were Chinese and Russian companies a year ago, they can now be counted on one hand. On the other hand, US blue chip companies (companies quoted on stock exchanges with substantial capitalisation and liquidity) are making a strong and noticeable come-back, despite the slowdown in the US economy. These firms are now in the Top 20. In the retail fuel business, ExxonMobil and PetroChina are ahead with a total recapitalisation of $384.9bn and 261.8bn respectively. The surprise entry into third place goes to discount specialist Wall-Mart, $219.6bn, the world's largest distributor, which was only in 31st place in 2007. It has been strengthened by reimbursement cheques paid out by the Bush administration to millions of households. This is the only company that has managed to stay in the black on the Dow Jones since the beginning of the year. In fourth place: General Electric ($204.8bn), which has gone down one place and in fifth place Microsoft ($798.6bn), which is up two places. The other surprise is the rise of Volkswagen to sixth place, thanks to an exceptional rise in its share prices after Porsche's increased stake in the capital of the German car manufacturer last week. David Ganozzi, the director of Fidelity Gestion in Paris said that, “the twenty top companies show an overall progression of the so-called 'defensive' companies”. Procter & Gamble is in 7th place, while Jonson & Johnson, in 30th position last year, now rises to tenth place. Conversely, companies subject to greater cyclical pressures are raising concerns about growth and the sharp fall in raw materials. This also goes for most financial companies whose share values experienced melt-down over recent months. At a European level, BP (total capitalisation of €133.6bn) and HSBC (€116.7bn) remain respectively in first and second place on the list. In third place: Nestlé (€116.4bn), fifth in October 2007, followed by Novartis (€104.2bn) with a total of €101.5bn.