Analysts, Gurus & Pundits: To: +EDC (4636 ) From: +Kirk Saturday, Apr 18 1998 2

» Kirk - To: +EDC (4636 ) From: +Kirk Saturday, Apr 18 1998 2

To: +EDC (4636 )
From: +Kirk Saturday, Apr 18 1998 2:15PM ET Reply # of 4642

Does anyone feel this market still has alot of upside?

Maybe this will help you determine my answer 8)

(someone sent me this via email)

> Earth's Population

>

> If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100

> people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look

> like this:

>

> There would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Americas (North and
> South), and 8 Africans.

> 51 would be female; 49 would be male.

> 70 would be non-white; 30 white.

> 70 would be non-Christian; 30 Christian.

> 50% of the entire world's wealth would be in the hands of only six
> people and all six would be citizens of the United States.

> 80 would live in substandard housing.

> 70 would be unable to read.

> 50 would suffer from malnutrition.

> 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth.

> Only 1 would have a college education.

> No one would own a computer.

I think Bill Gates wants to get atleast 50 of those people using computers with his OS and Office Suite.....HP will sell em a camera and a printer (and a PC), Intel will ask them to upgrade to a faster box once they get hooked, Cisco will show em how to connect their box to their neighbor's so they don't have to use the telephone, IBM will service them and someone will invent a keyboard that is easy to clean when they spill their Cokes (KO) on it.

Upside? Who best to sell efficiently to the billions of people on the planet than the top 1000 companies in the USA? (thus I vote for the Schwab1000 Index Fund for simplicity and easy telephone and web trading). Will we see continued returns above 20%? I highly doubt it, but stranger things have happened. Anyway, 7 to 12% annualized returns for the near future sure beats inflation and CD interest rates.

Until we have a war or major inflation, I don't really see this changing.

regards

Kirk out

Kirk Lindstrom

Editor: Personal Finance and Investing

-- posted by Kirk