London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of three "command centres" for the global economy . As Europe's largest city economy, year-by-year, London's economy generates approximately 19% of the UK's GDP or US$418 billion in 2005; whilst the entire London metropolitan area generates approximately 30% of UK GDP or US$660 billion in 2005. London shifted to a mostly service-based economy earlier than other European cities, particularly following the Second World War. London's relative success as a service industry and business centre can be attributed to a large array of factors: English becoming the new lingua franca, its former position as the capital of the British Empire, its close relationship with the US and various countries in Asia, its location in a central time zone that allows it to act as a bridge between US and Asian markets, English law being the most important and most used contract law in international business, the multi-cultural infr More »