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This page was last updated on June 24, 2001
CALIFORNIA'S MIGHTY ECONOMY - #5 IN THE WORLD
Everyone knows that the largest economic power in the world is the United States. Did you know that Japan is number 2? Can you guess which country is number 3? The answer is Germany. And number 4? It is the United Kingdom.
According to economists in Los Angeles, the economy of the State of California is number 5 on the list of world economic powers. In other words, the economy of California is larger than the economy of China, Korea, or any of the other European countries.
Number 6 on this list is France. Therefore, the California economy is greater than France. And, interestingly, last year California was number 6 on the world list.
Of course, California is not a country. It is a state within the United States, and does not have its own economy. People in California, however, have created a powerful economy that is more than 10% of the entire economy of the United States.
Remember that the Silicon Valley is the home of the American computer industry, and Los Angeles (and Hollywood) is the center of the American entertainment industry. The lifestyle of California attracts talented workers from around the world like a magnet (including many Japanese companies and their employees.)
There is currently a downturn in the California economy that will have a serious impact on California's businesses this year, especially the computer and Internet businesses. Last year, the "dot.coms" - the Internet companies - were flying high. This year, many have closed, and have laid-off workers, and are being called "dot.bombs."
This has created serious problems for other countries. In the first quarter of 2001, American imports from Japan fell 35%. This will make it harder for the Japanese economy to improve.
Hopefully the California economy will improve, which will help the rest of the world recover from the current economic slump. California consumers love to buy products from around the world, especially Japan. A successful California helps us all.
WORDS AND PHRASES
TITLE - "Mighty" - strong and powerful.
PARAGRAPH 2 - "According to.." is a common phrase in newspapers when the information comes from an expert in a particular area. In this case, economists in California developed the information, and this article is referencing their study.
PARAGRAPH 3 - "Interestingly" - means it is interesting, or in this case, and interesting fact.
PARAGRAPH 5 - "Silicon Valley" - is the area of Northern California where most of the state's computer industry is located. Named after the silicon used in computer chips, this area is about 1 hour (by car) south of San Francisco.
PARAGRAPH 6 - "Downturn" means a reduction or a decrease. In this case, a decrease in the economy.
PARAGRAPH 6 - "Dot.bomb" - in American slang, a failure is called a bomb. We often hear of someone or something "bombing" or failing. Many dot.com companies (Internet companies) have failed, so they are called dot.bombs.
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