The debates about globalisation, global finance and global cities appear to confuse global and international changes and seem a-historical. This paper begins with a sceptical assessment of globalisation and asks whether a globalised economy is really an internationalised one. The paper then addresses an aspect of global finance—the national impetus given to alliances between markets in major cities. The financial derivatives markets, particularly in Europe, are used to exemplify this trend and to question the degree to which electronic trading poses a threat to the economic welfare of the urban territories in which they are located. In conclusion, the prospect of major players in large financial centres becoming incorporated into the governance of urban policy is raised.
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