World's most powerful women

AGENCIES NEW YORK: German leader Angela Merkel and businesswomen dominate Forbes magazine's new list of powerful women, while First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't break the top 30. Reflecting the world's focus on recession and the struggle to keep the financial markets afloat, Merkel was followed almost exclusively by businesswomen. Hillary Clinton slipped from 28 last year, when she was close to winning the Democratic presidential nomination to 36, despite heading the powerful US State Department. Michelle Obama came into the list for the first time. Although she has the ear of the US president around the clock, she ranked only 40. Below her, at 42, came Britain' Queen Elizabeth II. 1: Angela Merkel (German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party speaks at the panel session 'Sustained growth, ways out of the economic crisis' in Berlin on August 17, 2009. AFP) Merkel headed the list, published Wednesday, for the fourth year running, with the magazine highlighting her role as leader of the huge German economy and her likely re-election in September. 2: Sheila Bair (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Sheila Bair speaks during her testimony at the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 23, 2009. REUTERS) In second place came Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which insures US banks. 3: Indra Nooyi (CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi speaks at the official opening of a PepsiCo bottling plant not far from Moscow in Domodedovo on July 8, 2009. AFP) Third was Indra Nooyi, chief executive at PepsiCo. 4: Cynthia Carroll Image courtesy: www.angloamerican.co.uk  Fourth was Cynthia Carroll, the chief executive of mining giant Anglo American. 5: Ho Ching (Ho Ching, Temasek Holdings executive director and CEO, speaks during an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Corporate Associate lunch in Singapore on July 29, 2009. REUTERS) Ho Ching, chief executive at Singapore's government investment company Temasek Holdings, was the fifth in the list. 6: Irene Rosenfeld Image courtesy: www.kraftfoodscompany.com  Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive of Kraft Foods in US, was sixth in the list. 7: Ellen Kullman Image courtesy: www2.dupont.com  Seventh was Ellen Kullman, chief executive of DuPont in US. 8: Angela Braly Image courtesy: www.wellpoint.com Angela Braly, chief executive of WellPoint in US was eight in the list. 9: Anne Lauvergeon (French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) kisses French Areva nuclear power company CEO Anne Lauvergeon (L) during a meeting dedicated to youth employment between directors of companies and youth on July 15, 2009 at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris. AFP) In the ninth place was Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of Areva in France. 10: Lynn Elsenhans Image courtesy: www.sunocoinc.com  Lastly but not the least, Lynn Elsenhans, chief executive of Sunoco in US was tenth in the list.