Trend US equity grows into nearly half of the sampled world's corporate equity

Summary

MGI reports that equity issued by US companies now makes up nearly half of all corporate equity across the countries in its global sample. That share is far larger than in earlier years and has grown over the past 15 years, mainly because US share prices appreciated rapidly. As a result, US equity carries particular weight for global wealth, not only for American households. More than a third of US equity liabilities are held by foreign investors, so price swings in US markets spread to wealth in other countries. This concentration means a correction in US equity would have unusually broad effects on balance sheets worldwide.