According to the new issue of New York magazine, which is a homage to London in the 21st century, the financial, cultural and culinary aspects of the UK capital now tower over New York.

The magazine says : “If Paris was the capital of the 19th century and New York of the 20th, London is shaping up to be the capital of the 21st century. It is not Britain and the US that have a special relationship, it is London and New York… increasingly it seems as though London has the upper hand.”

Certainly the City — London’s world-class financial centre — is much more vibrant than Wall Street, which is suffering the dead hand of Sarbanes-Oxley regulation. The light-touch, principle-based system of the Square Mile knocks spots off New York’s draconian regime. This, almost alone, allowed the London Stock Exchange to survive a ferocious takeover bid from New York’s Nasdaq recently, simply by pointing out to shareholders that it was in a much better financial position than the American exchange. No sweat.

That kind of insouciance can’t be bought, only built. Very English.

As for culture, well, London has it all. I must admit I wish it had a little more familiarity at times — I lived in London for five years a while back — but you can’t have everything.

Syntagma has been planning a major network magazine around London for a long time. Writers, authors, bloggers, investors, or any interested parties, please get in touch. Contact details are in the footer.

Update : Not forgetting the Olympic Games are set for London in 2012. Yet another reason for paying attention to this remarkable metropolis (it’s a collection of cities rather than one big one).