The buildout of the Internet is not dependent on interest rates or the economy, unless we go into a recession. Which we do not expect, especially in an election year. Look into how they select stocks, what stocks they own etc. Then research some of these companies. We also encourage diversification, both within and among asset classes, but we continue to believe that the outlook for equities is better than that for fixed income.
Selectivity is the key.
Although we favor the U.S. market because of the U.S. dominance of the world economy there appears to be opportunity in areas especially Asia that are rebounding after a couple of difficult years. We don't think MSFT will be broken up. Eventually either they will come to an amicable settlement or the case will be dragged through the courts for a number of years. They will be very good as long as the traditional banks fail to act swiftly to re-orient themselves to the Internet. We think they are positioned very well to be one of the financial portals for Internet finance.