Stock Market – which way to go?

Here are a few interesting paragraphs from a newsletter from Motley Fool that I just got in my mail.. kind of useful and interesting information here on the stock market:

Your long-term wealth may depend on how you answer these three questions…

* Of the five top makers of steel, electronics and consumer appliances, how many are based in the United States?
* Since 1993, how many years was the U.S. stock market the world’s top performer?
* Last year, how many of the top 15 best-performing stock funds were U.S. funds?

Would it surprise you to hear that the answer in all three cases is “NONE.” It shouldn’t.

Not if you follow the money. Certainly, not when you consider that more than half the market capitalization of all public companies already resides beyond U.S. borders.

No wonder investors in Hungary (up 268%)… India (up 309%)… Austria (up 375%)… plus 19 other nations all outperformed their U.S. counterparts since September ’02.

Put it together and we’ve got a stampede of riches overseas that’s fast approaching a tipping point. After all, it’s driven by raw demographics…

Forbes points out, “India’s population is among the world’s youngest, with 60% of its people under age 32. An emerging middle class of 300 million provides a phenomenal growth prospect.”

The Washington Post reports, “Since 1978, China’s economy has grown at a compound rate of more than 9% per year. It’s morning in Asia.”

The Economist perhaps says it best, declaring, “America Drops, Asia Shops.”

Of course, India and Asia are tips of the global iceberg. Economic upstarts from South America to South Africa are developing at an alarming clip. FAR faster than we can expect from a mature economy like ours.

The newsletter wants you to invest in emerging markets…. I think that is a good idea!