GE was No. 1 in Barron's World's Most Respected Companies ranking in 2005. The storied conglomerate and beacon of American corporate culture slipped to second place in 2006, fifth in 2007 and eleventh in last year's survey, conducted late last summer. In six short months, the newest ranking shows General Electric (ticker: GE) plunging to No. 43, easily the most dramatic move among the 100 companies on our list. GE's nose-dive in status reflects a series of earnings shortfalls and a sickening stock-price decline, which together revoked any benefit of the doubt Wall Street had afforded Chief Executive Jeff Immelt in his eight years running the company.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is again the most respected big company in the world, for the second straight year and a third year out of four, according to the investors who completed Barron's survey

Perhaps surprisingly, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) placed second. Buffett's status among investors remains undiminished by high-profile investments in GE and Goldman Sachs (GS), which were bold, but quickly pulled underwater by the deepening financial crisis -- not to mention a bear market that cost his own stock 40% of its value in five months. As one respondent commented, "Putting capital to work when others are either fearful or unable to is what you would expect from Buffett and [Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie] Munger."

Because market value as of a certain date is pivotal to inclusion on the list, stock-price changes play a significant role in determining which companies are the largest 100 at the time of our annual reshuffling. This year, 24 companies were replaced because their market capitalizations have shrunk since June 30, the cut-off date for determining 2008's biggest companies. The credit crisis and the collapse of commodity prices ensured most of the deletions were banks and natural-resource companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Monsanto (MON) and Citigroup (C).

Because market value as of a certain date is pivotal to inclusion on the list, stock-price changes play a significant role in determining which companies are the largest 100 at the time of our annual reshuffling. This year, 24 companies were replaced because their market capitalizations have shrunk since June 30, the cut-off date for determining 2008's biggest companies. The credit crisis and the collapse of commodity prices ensured most of the deletions were banks and natural-resource companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Monsanto (MON) and Citigroup (C).

Because market value as of a certain date is pivotal to inclusion on the list, stock-price changes play a significant role in determining which companies are the largest 100 at the time of our annual reshuffling. This year, 24 companies were replaced because their market capitalizations have shrunk since June 30, the cut-off date for determining 2008's biggest companies. The credit crisis and the collapse of commodity prices ensured most of the deletions were banks and natural-resource companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Monsanto (MON) and Citigroup (C).

Because market value as of a certain date is pivotal to inclusion on the list, stock-price changes play a significant role in determining which companies are the largest 100 at the time of our annual reshuffling. This year, 24 companies were replaced because their market capitalizations have shrunk since June 30, the cut-off date for determining 2008's biggest companies. The credit crisis and the collapse of commodity prices ensured most of the deletions were banks and natural-resource companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Monsanto (MON) and Citigroup (C).

McDonald's -- returning to the list after larger companies riding the commodity boom had knocked it off last year -- is another iconic American brand and hard-times favorite, with an impressive respect tally that earned it seventh place. A commentator gushed, "They are always thinking ahead. The restructuring in recent years was wildly successful."