US economy still most competitive: Poll

The US still has the world's most competitive economy, despite the recent turmoil that has seen some Wall Street giants tumble and others turn to the Federal Reserve for financial bailouts, according to a survey released yesterday.

In a poll of over 12,000 business figures conducted by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum, the US ranked first, ahead of Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Singapore.

Researchers defended the Global Competitiveness Index 2008-09 survey's accuracy despite the fact that it was conducted before the US government announced a $700 billion rescue package to save ailing financial companies from collapse.