Jazan Economic City

Putrajaya, Malaysia

Aktau City, Kazakhstan

Eko Atlantic Lagos

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Scale model of Shanghai

Sao Paulo

Proposed World Government

The world government is split into 6 sectors, and one for the world as a whole. At each level, there are 3 different capitals: political, financial, and military. This is obviously a very US-centric view.

World Government
Political Capital: New York
Financial Capital: New York (or London)
Military Capital: Washington

Northern Sector
Political Capital: Kansas City (or San Antonio)
Financial Capital: Chicago
Military Capital: Colorado Springs

Southern Sector
Political Capital: Montevideo, Uruguay
Financial Capital: Sao Paulo
Military Capital: Miami

European Sector
Political Capital: Strasbourg, France (seat of the Council of Europe)
Financial Capital: London
Military Capital: Stuttgart, Germany

Central Sector
Political Capital: Abu Dhabi
Financial Capital: Dubai
Military Capital: Qatar (forward base of the US Central Command)

African Sector
Political Capital: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Financial Capital: Johannesburg
Military Capital: Stuttgart, Germany

Pacific Sector
Political Capital: Singapore (headquarters of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)
Financial Capital: Hong Kong
Military Capital: Honolulu

Runner Up Cities

Any list is somewhat arbitrary.  Here are the runner up cities which could possibly stake a claim into the top 100 if they can knock out some other candidate:

United States and Canada: Austin, TX; Calgary, Alberta; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Edmonton, Alberta; Hampton Roads, VA; Honolulu, HI; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; Las Vegas, NV; Milwaukee, WI; New Orleans, LA; Oklahoma City, OK; Orlando, FL; Ottawa, Canada; Pittsburgh, PA; Richmond, VA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; San Juan, Puerto Rico

South America: Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Caracas, Venezuela;  Curitaba, Brazil; Montevideo, Uraguay; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Quito, Ecuador

Central America and Caribbean:  Guadalajara, Mexico; Guatemala City; Nassau, Bahamas; Panama City; San Jose, Costa Rica; San Salvador, El Salvador; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic;

Europe: Ankara, Turkey; Antwerp, Belgium; Athens, Greece; Belfast, UK; Belgrade, Serbia; Birmingham, UK; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bucharest, Romania; Budapest, Hungary; Cologne, Germany; Dusseldorf, Germany; Gibraltor; Gothenburg, Sweden; Kyiv, Ukraine; Leeds UK; Lisbon, Portugal; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Lyon, France; Manchester, UK; Malta; Monaco; Marseille, France; Nicosia, Cyprus;  Reykjavik, Iceland; Riga, Latvia; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Sofia, Bulgaria; St. Petersburg, Russia; Stuttgart, Germany; Talinn, Estonia; Valencia, Spain; Vilnius, Lithuania; Zagreb, Croatia

Africa: Accra, Ghana; Alexandria, Egypt; Casablanca; Durban, South Africa; Libreville, Gabon; Kinshasa, DR Congo; Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; Port Luis, Mauritius; Tunis, Tunisia;

Middle East: Amman, Jordan; Beirut, Lebanon; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Muscat, Oman

Asia: Adelaide, Australia; Ahmedebad, India; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Brisbane, Australia; Chengdu, China; Colombo, Sri Lanka;  Daegu-Gyeongbuk, South Korea; Dhaka, Pakistan; Fukuoka, Japan; Gold Coast City, Australia; Hanoi, Vietnam; Incheon, South Korea; Islamabad, Pakistan; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Lahore, Pakistan; Macau, China; Nagoya, Japan; Penang Island, Malaysia; Perth, Australia; Pune, India; Shenyang, China; Surat, India; Wuhan, China

==========
Here is another list, partially overlapping with this, of important cities that have not been included in the top 125:

Baku, Azerbaijan
Astana, Kazakhstan
Sacramento, CA
Kansas City, MO
Brakin (Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa,DR-Congo)
Durban, South Africa
Brunei
Nairobi, Kenya
San Antonio, Texas
Orlando, FL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Las Vegas, NV
Budapest, Hungary
Panama City, Panama
Recife, Brazil
Wuhan, China
Gold Coast City, Australia
Daegu, South Korea
Incheon, South Korea
Penang Island, Malaysia
Perth, Australia
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Adelaide, Australia
Curitiba, Brazil
Monaco

================
Partial list of cities that have not been included in top 200
Wellington, Adelaide, Putrajaya (Malaysia), Astana, Lausanne (Switzerland), Bonn, Turin
Addis Ababa, Abuja
Columbus, OH; Edmonton; Hampton Roads, VA; Indianapolis, IN; Milwaukee, WI; Oklahoma City, OK; Richmond, VA; Salt Lake City;
Kingston, Jamaica; San Juan, Puerto Rico, Quito
Katowice, Poland [pop. 2.7 million]

Top 100 Powerful Cities of the World

Here is my list of the Top 100 Cities of the World.  This is based on several criteria, sometimes competing.  In general it is ranked by GDP, with adjustments for other factors, such as political power. For instance, Washington and Brussels are ranked higher for political reasons. I think it is pretty good for a first pass and it is subject to change.

Of this number, 24 are in the United States and Canada, 3 in Central America and the Caribbean, 7 are in South America, 28 are in Europe (including Russia & Turkey), 3 are in Africa, 6 are in the Middle East and 29 are in Asia (including India & Australia).

1. New York, NY
2. London
3. Washington DC/Baltimore, MD
4. Tokyo, Japan
5. Hong Kong
6. Los Angeles/Riverside, CA
7. Chicago, IL
8. Paris, France
9. Singapore
10. Brussels, Belgium
11. Shanghai, China
12. San Francisco/San Jose, CA
13. Zurich, Switzerland
14. Sao Paulo, Brazil
15. Boston, MA
16. Mexico City, Mexico
17. Buenos Aires, Argentina
18. Sydney, Australia
19. Seoul, Korea
20. Moscow, Russia
21. Beijing, China
22. Toronto, Canada
23. Frankfurt, Germany
24. Berlin, Germany
25. Madrid, Spain
26. Mumbai, India
27. Osaka/Kobe, Japan
28. Delhi/New Delhi, India
29. Houston, TX
30. Taipei, Taiwan
31. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
32. Philadelphia, PA
33. Guangzhou, China
34. Atlanta, GA
35. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
36. Miami, FL
37. Geneva, Switzerland
38. Jersey/Guernsey/Isle of Man
39. Montreal, Canada
40. Vienna, Austria
41. Istanbul, Turkey
42. Vancouver, Canada
43. Amsterdam, Netherlands
44. Stockholm, Sweden
45. Barcelona, Spain
46. Dubai
47. Rome, Italy
48. Edinburgh/Glasgow, UK
49. Copenhagen, Denmark
50. Cairo, Egypt
51. Manila, Philippines
52. Melbourne, Australia
53. Seattle, WA
54. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
55. Munich, Germany
56. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
57. Kolkata, India
58. Phoenix, AZ
59. San Diego/Tijuana, CA
60. Auckland/Wellington, New Zealand
61. Manama, Bahrain
62. Tehran, Iran
63. Barcelona, Spain
64. Bangkok, Thailand
65. Jakarta, Indonesia
66. Shenzhen, China
67. Denver, CO
68. Tianjin, China
69. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
70. Hamilton, Bermuda / Road Town, British Virgin Islands / George Town, Cayman Islands
71. Lima, Peru
72. Brasilia, Brazil
73. Santiago, Chile
74. Rome, Italy
75. Luxembourg
76. Bangalore, India
77. Johannesburg, South Africa
78. Dublin, Ireland
79. Karachi, Pakistan
80. Bogota, Colombia
81. Tel Aviv, Israel
82. Oslo, Norway
83. Helsinki, Finland
84. Monterrey, Mexico
85. Charlotte, NC
86. Cape Town, South Africa
87. Detroit, MI
88. Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam
89. Milan, Italy
90. Busan, Korea
91. Chennai, India
92. St Louis, MO
93. Doha, Qatar
94. Chonqing, China
95. Tampa/St Petersburg, FL
96. Warsaw, Poland
97. Hyderabad, India
98. Abu Dhabi
99. Portland, OR
100. Prague, Czech Republic

Update: Honolulu should be in the top 50 at least.

Top Business Cities

1. London
2. New York
3. Hong Kong
4. Singapore
5. Shanghai
6. Tokyo
7. Chicago
8. Zurich
9. San Francisco
10. Toronto
11. Seoul
12. Boston
13. Geneva
14. Washington DC
15. Sydney
16. Frankfurt
17. Vancouver
18. Melbourne
19. Beijing
20. Montreal
21. Jersey 
22. Munich 
23. Taipei 
24. Paris 
25. Shenzhen 
26. Osaka 
27. Wellington 
28. Stockholm 
29. Luxembourg 
30. Qatar
31. Guernsey
32. Edinburgh 
33. Glasgow 
34. Copenhagen 
35. Amsterdam 
36. Dubai 
37. Oslo 
38. Kuala Lumpur 
39. Helsinki 
40. Isle of Man 
41. Hamilton (Bermuda)
42. Vienna 
43. Dublin 
44. Brussels 
45. British Virgin Islands 
46. Cayman Islands 
47. Mexico City 
48. Madrid 
49. Sao Paulo 
50. Milan 
51. Prague 
52. Johannesburg 
53. Rio de Janeiro 
54. Rome 
55. Bahrain 
56. Warsaw 
57. Bangkok 
58. Gibraltar 
59. Monaco 
60. Lisbon 
61. Moscow 
62. Istanbul 
63. Buenos Aires 
64. Mumbai 
65. Jakarta 
66. Riyadh 
67. Talinn 
68. Mauritius 
69. Manila 
70. Malta 
71. St Petersburg 
72. Bahamas 
73. Budapest 
74. Reykjavik 
75. Athens

Source: http://zyen.com/PDF/GFCI%2010.pdf

Hedge funds moving to Malta

"Malta has also begun to win business from more-established fund jurisdictions. The island has benefited from a growing demand by investors for transparency as well as from fears among hedge funds that the EU was becoming increasingly hostile to firms based outside of it.

In 2010, nine companies from the British Virgin Islands, seven from the Cayman Islands and six from Luxembourg switched their legal domicile to Malta, according to the MFSA. In addition, at least a dozen large U.K. hedge funds and funds of hedge funds have shifted part of their operations, including accounting and investor relations, to Malta.

[Paul] Keegan says adjustment to life on Malta is easy. U.K. newspapers and British television are ubiquitous. Public telephone booths are even the same iconic red ones found in Britain. Keegan doesn’t miss London’s weather. Malta averages 300 days of sunshine per year. And he and his wife are building a house on the island, something he says they could never have afforded to do in London, where they lived in a two-bedroom apartment."

--http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/malta-lures-connecticut-hedge-funds-with-300-days-of-sun-aided-by-eu-rules.html

Iskandar Malaysia

US will kill the dollar

Debt jumps $97 billion overnight

On 12/29/2011 the national debt was $15,126 billion.
On 12/30/2011 the national debt was $15,223 billion. The debt held by the public went up only $12 billion, whereas intragovernmental debt went up $85 billion to a new record high of $4,775 billion.

Debt held by the public went up only $58 billion in December.

Cold War with Iran

There is a cold war going on right now with Iran. The US is blacklisting the whole country. Iran sees this as a provocation and may shut down the Straits of Hormuz. And then the US Navy will intervene to reopen it.

See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/02/iran-currency-plunges-us-sanction
Iran test-fires long-range missile in naval drill

"The US has slapped sanctions on Iran, targeting its financial sector while the EU is considering an embargo on Iranian oil. But if the West suffocates Iran, it will have no option but to respond in a severe manner, Dr Seyed Mohammad Marandi told RT.
­“The problem is that the US is pushing this conflict, this confrontation, in a direction which is becoming dangerous,” said Marandi of the University of Tehran.
--‘Iran opposes US hegemony’

Riyadh

The title of the video says "Riyadh female University", but it appears to be a downtown area of Riyadh. Very cool and futuristic.

King Abdullah Economic City

Dubai

Gujarat India