U.S. firms pare European expansion.

• Position: Business Briefs

Another sign of recessionary U.S. corporate investment Europe shrank significantly in 2001 as American firms pared back expansion plans for the first time in more than four years.

Only 733 new investments by U.S. firms in European markets were logged by Ernst & Young's European Investment Monitor (EIM), a 26 percent decline from the 985 projects tracked in 2000. The Ernst & Young report also shows that the market share of European investment held by U.S. corporations shrank to 37 percent last year from 44 percent the year before. This is the lowest U.S. share of European investment since 1997, when the U.S. accounted for 35 percent of inward investment in Europe.

Some of this decline was offset by increased investments by Austria, France and Japan, but this was not enough to offset an overall decline in inward investment of 12 percent in 2001.

In absolute numbers, the United Kingdom was the hardest-hit regional market, E&Y found. New U.S. investments in the country in 2001 dropped to 377 from 575 the year prior, a 34 percent decline. Also hit hard: Switzerland, down from 45 projects in 2000 to 24, a 47 percent decline; Ireland, where investment projects fell from 113 to 61 in 2001, down 46 percent; the Netherlands, down from 105 to 66, or 37 percent; and France, where new investments were down 25 percent.

Among other key statistics from the ElM:

* London retained the top spot in the regional tables with 94 new projects in 2001. Catalonia was second, with 86, and Paris third, with 61. Regions entering the top ranks...