The result is an increase of 18 over a year on Wall Street

On the stock market, the year 2008 was not black for absolutely everyone. On the first 500 global groups, 30 escaped the debacle and seen their climbing courses, while markets plummeted globally 43. These values that have evolved to counter current include several business targets for public tenders for the purchase, such as British Energy (about to be bought by EDF), Spanish Union Fenosa or American Rohm & Haas. Other values were laid by speculation on a possible change of control, such as Volkswagen or Hermes International, only great French to have gained ground in the stock market last year company.

But this "30 Club" also includes companies whose stock prowess are more directly related to their activities. Groups thriving on the model of Fast Retailing, the "Japanese Gap." Its course jumped 65 percent last year, the absolute record in the 500 first world capitalization. Cheap and casual clothes are sold like hotcakes, even in difficult times. Beautiful success for Wal-Mart, the American King of the discount. "Stores for poor" of the first worldwide distributor benefited from the difficulties encountered by some of the world's population purchasing power. The result is an increase of 18 over a year on Wall Street. Similarly, McDonald's, the champion of the meal price, continues to sell more hamburgers and saw its course increase of 8.

Other winners of the crisis, the gold producers of type Goldcorp ( 11) or Barrick Gold ( 7). Their results are supported by the rise of the yellow metal, which once more a role of safe haven. London, Randgold Resources action thus displays a 60 increase, the most brilliant performance of the FTSE 100 index that she comes from joining.

Finally, pharmaceutical values were recovered in 2008 their defensive status. Six of them are part of the 30 major groups on the rise last year. Lack of major innovations to replace their current drug stars, most of the heavy weight of health, Pfizer, are certainly in crisis. But few laboratories have molecules really promising, especially those coming from biotechnology, draw their PIN of the game. Witnesses, stock market advances to AstraZeneca, Amgen, Genentech and Celgene.

In the end, 2008 will be thus marked a profound upheaval in the classification of the large global Cap. At the top, ExxonMobil rose on the first step of the podium, that he had to leave for a few months to rival Petrochina by rampant speculation on Chinese values. With the return of ExxonMobil in the first place, the trading hierarchy better reflects the reality, the American leader producing more crude and releasing two times more profit than its Asian rival. Despite his fall by 50 in one year, Petrochina action is also among the oil values the best valued: negotiates more than 9 times the annual result, against ratios of about 4 for Shell, 5 for BP, Total 6...

Collapse of the GE title

Behind Wal-Mart is spent in one year of the thirtieth third in the world! Several defensive values are also ski lifts to the classification, such as Johnson & Johnson (now 10th World), Nestlé (14th), rock (16) or Novartis (17th).

Conversely, the crisis has been collapsing financial and related headlines. This is particularly the case of General Electric, demoted from third to eighth place in the global table. Very present in the energy and infrastructure, the more colossal American conglomerates should benefit from the resistance of these sectors and stimulus programs planned by many States. But the weight of its financial activities, which have long provided half of its profits, it was strongly penalized.