manufacturing sector, with a large part of the world's industrial production taking place in Europe. Most of the continent's industries are concentrated in the 'Blue Banana' (covering Southern England, the Benelux, western Germany, eastern France, Switzerland, and northern Italy). However, because of the higher wage level and hence production costs, Europe is suffering from deindustrialization and offshoring in the labour-intensive manufacturing sectors. This means that manufacturing has become less important and that jobs are moved to regions with cheaper labour costs (mainly China and Central and Eastern Europe). Central Europe (Berlin, Saxony, the Czech Republic and Little Poland) was largely industrialised by 1850 but Eastern Europe (European Russia) begun industrialisation between 1890–1900 and intensified it during the communist regime (as the USSR), but it suffered from contraction in the 1990s when the inefficient heavy-industry-based manufacturing sector was crippled after the collapse of communism and the introduction of the market economy. In the 21st century the manufacturing sector in Central and Eastern Europe picked up because of the accession of ten formerly Communist European states to the EU and their resulting accession to the European Common Market. This caused firms within the European Union to move jobs from their manufacturing sector to Central European countries such as Poland (see above), which sparked both Central and Eastern European industrial growth and employment. According to Fortune Global 500, 195 of the top 500 companies are headquartered in Europe. The main products in European industry are automobiles, bicycles, rail, machinery, marine, aerospace equipment, food, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, software and electronics. Investing and banking Europe has a well-developed financial sector. Many European cities are financial centres with London being the largest. The financial sector of the Eurozone is helped by the introduction of the euro as common currency. This has made it easier for European households and firms to invest in companies and deposit money in banks in other European countries. Exchange rate fluctuations are now non-existent in the Eurozone. The financial sector in Central and Eastern Europe is helped by economic growth in the region, European Regional Development Fund and the commitment of Central and Eastern European governments to achieve high standards. According to the Global Financial Centres Index, , four European cities rank among the 20 largest financial centres in the world: London (2nd), Zurich (14th), Frankfurt (15th), and Paris (17th). European banks are amongst the largest and most profitable in the