They will chronicle the 40-year period from 1980 to 2020 as the key years of a remarkable transformation. In the developed countries of the West, new technology will lead to big productivity increases that will cause high economic growth - actually, waves of technology will continue to roll out through the early part of the 21st century. And then the relentless process of globalization, the opening up of national economies and the integration of markets, will drive the growth through much of the rest of the world. The public is there for one reason and one reason only, They are there to absorb the risk. The stock markets are experiencing record levels of volatility and cynicism, while across the board the five year charts of most quality technology stocks scream market top, like the Riccola dude high on an Alps peak.
Some smart money seems to think so.
Bond prices are soaring and money is leaving the more speculative technology stocks searching for less exhausted hunting grounds overseas in Japan and Korea, or even in the uncool value-laden old economy of the Dow. Like most of the money in today's stock market, we missed the early years of the Dells and the Ciscos. Until we find ourselves all crowded together on a high windswept slope just below the summit. Freezing to death. We're stoked on books like The Long Boom and understand better than the older generation that the Internet, photonics, nanotechnology, genomics, fuel cells and a myriad of other technologies are about to change the world in ways unimaginable to the bulk of humanity.