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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Clarksterh who wrote (118786)	5/14/2002 5:31:58 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Clark, the same thing [lowered returns] applies to interest rates. When people expect to live for 1000 years, a very low rate of return makes it worth saving for the future. Even 0.4% interest rate compounded for 400 years would mean a long and happy retirement on very modest savings in early life. BUT, with unbacked currencies and interest rates, the likelihood of hot-air currencies having a thousand year Reich is not good. Also, since currencies are designed to maintain price stability, the holders are constantly diluted [in a different way from shareholders of companies who pay staff with stock options]. So, even if prices aren't rising and there's no inflation, the money holders are being bled. Prices don't rise because the creative genius of the inventors and producers enables them to do more for less and competition means they need to invent new stuff and lower their prices [which they can do without lowering profits because of the productivity miracle of modern technology, near-zero production costs and huge gains in unit sales]. So, money holders think they are doing okay because interest rates are ahead of inflation. But when the market clearing in the stock market is finished and the wealth-effect economic decline is over [not many people are suffering wealth-effect and sudden wealth syndrome these days] the stock markets will take off again assuming political messes don't continue to queer the pitch. All forms of investment are subject to the effects of no currency backing and increased life expectancy, globalisation, markets of 7 billion instead of 2 billion, zero marginal cost of production and cyberspace bringing the world to your door. This time it really is different, for 6 billion people [who are actually different people from those of 1950 - even those alive then are different now; check balding pate and reduced life expectancy]. See? Mqurice