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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	2/14/2010 8:36:08 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217949

Empowering women is a myth. How comes without empowering them the Japanese succeeded?

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	2/14/2010 12:08:13 PM
From: koan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 217949

Japan has long been one of the most sexist nations on earth, but the women are gaining. Bt becoming educated. Adn they are still the thrid largest economy on earth. Yes, I should have included both China and India. But I remember a professor friend once saying to me: "every time I see a japanese student in my class I knew that was an A. But the primary point I am trying to make is how important education is. The other day I watched an interview with Palin. She said in no uncertain terms that eductated people are "elitists" and should be listenting to the common sense Americans (paraphrased). Interpreted, eduction is not important and can actually make people less intelligent about policy. That is nuts. And I see that theme running all through our cultrue and politics. E.g. how often do you ever see politicians even recognizing there is such a thing as social science. We are at the very early stages of being civilized human beings and our social sciences are still in full blown evolution, still we do know stuff and applying our social science knowledge to running our governements is imporant.

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	2/14/2010 3:34:08 PM
From: energyplay	Respond to of 217949

Japanese women seem to react with lower marriage rates, and lower birthrates. Also, even in insular Japan, the idea of a non-Japanese husband has appeal. csmonitor.com Note that this article counts marriages IN Japan, and not Japanese brides getting married in foreign countries. Also, the "Christmas Cake" business is really stupid (need to get married before age 25, just like a Christmas cake isn't as good after December 25)

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	2/14/2010 7:01:56 PM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 217949

coconut is now able to converse rather fluently and pretty deeply on enough subjects in both mandarin and english, using words such as "can we struggle against the enemy dark-walkers" in chinese she is reciting tang dynasty poems she is doing simple math in both languages has performed simple piano tunes on rented stage at city hall concert hall swimming, wushu-ing, ballet, and reading so very much, in two languages she now figures out english words on own by device of phonics and she has set up her own work station in corner of living room, complete with toy computer, reading lights, clock, and writing instruments pod, as well as a photo of self in frame she wants a kitten named pizza, but is deferring to imperative of one named jack until such time the all-clear signal is up

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	2/16/2010 12:36:57 PM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Respond to of 217949

you should replace "Japanese" by "Chinese" At McGill in the early 70s.. Friday night would find the library mostly devoid of life as the students headed off to the pub.. EXCEPT overwhelmingly for the Chinese students.. They worked and worked and worked.. My experience agrees with you.. TBS

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	4/11/2010 5:15:44 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217949

Canadian companies have about $8.8-billion invested directly in Brazil, about the same as they do in Texas, according to government figures. Brazil was Canada's 12th-largest export market in 2008, even though Brazil is the eighth-largest economy in the world with a GDP surpassing $1.6-trillion. Canada exports much more to Texas (with a state economy of about $1.2-trillion). theglobeandmail.com Time to tell Black Swan to put his daughter to learn Portuguese.

To: Seeker of Truth who wrote (61099)	4/12/2010 11:33:49 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217949

Japan has become Itau’s main overseas market on the asset management front, with Japanese retail investors accounting for 82 per cent of the $14bn of assets held by overseas investors. Japan’s growing yen for Brazil’s attractions By Lindsay Whipp in Tokyo Published: April 11 2010 12:52 \| Last updated: April 11 2010 12:52 Back in 2008, Roberto Nishikawa, senior managing director at Itaú, one of Brazil’s biggest banks, told his staff he expected assets under management from Japanese retail investors in the bank’s funds to rise tenfold by the end of 2009 to $5bn (£3.3bn, €3.7bn). “They told me I was crazy,” Mr Nishikawa says, with a smile. But the group has already collected $11.5bn, giving it about half of all Japanese retail money invested in Brazilian real-denominated investment trusts. It is understandable why Itaú saw opportunity in Japan. Japanese investors’ passion for investing in Brazilian assets has grown rapidly since 2008, when brokerages started distributing Brazilian-real denominated funds to Japanese individuals. Prior to 2008 there were hardly any available. Brazil is a relatively new market for many Japanese investors, making investment funds a more popular route than direct investment. As of February, individuals held a record Y2,050bn (£14.2bn, €16.3bn, $21.9bn) in investment trusts denominated in Brazilian reals, according to the Japan Investment Trusts Association. Japan has become Itau’s main overseas market on the asset management front, with Japanese retail investors accounting for 82 per cent of the $14bn of assets held by overseas investors. A large part of Brazil’s attraction as a destination for Japanese investors is the interest rate differential. The meagre 0.1 per cent set by Japan’s central bank provides a sharp contrast to Brazil’s 8.75 per cent. Reflecting this, two-thirds of the assets invested in real-denominated investment trusts are in bonds. Many investors are also probably hoping to benefit from a stronger Brazilian real, which has gained 14 per cent against the Japanese yen over the past 12 months. However, they face having returns from their bond investments reduced or even wiped out if the real weakens significantly and the currency exposure is not hedged. Another attraction is Brazil’s status as an emerging economy with strong growth potential. Brazil’s national statistics office last month said the economy is on course to grow at least 5.5 per cent this year on the back of strong consumer demand and a recovery in investment. Purchasing power is also rising as more people move into the middle classes, Mr Nishikawa says. “The fundamentals in Brazil look quite good,” says Junya Tanase, a senior currency strategist at JPMorgan in Tokyo. “We expect Brazilian GDP to reach 6.2 per cent this year. This high level, coupled with high interest rates, is attracting the retail investor. It is easy to understand and there is the additional appeal of the World Cup and Olympics.” Brazil is hosting the Fifa World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympics. The nation could benefit from the various infrastructure and investment that these major events bring in the same way as Japan did when Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympics. The Japanese age group that can recall those days is now either retired or nearing retirement. This group has the highest level of savings and likes to buy investment trusts that provide monthly dividend income, though it is not clear the extent to which these older savers buy into emerging markets. Itaú has already capitalised on this story, having launched the first Olympic-themed equity fund, called Rio Winds, in Japan last November through one of its local partners. The fund, which raised $1.2bn within a month, invests in stocks expected to benefit from Olympic-related investment. Itaú is now trying to woo Japanese institutional investors. Last week, it launched an asset management arm in Tokyo, where it has employed four people to give investment advice and plans to market onshore funds with local partners and offshore funds independently. “With the time difference, if something happens in Brazil, we need to have people working in Japanese time so they have information when business opens [here],” Mr Nishikawa says. The bank is likely to need patience. Institutional investors such as pension funds have yet to put substantial chunks of their portfolios in emerging market funds. One local expert says institutional investors are interested in Brazil’s potential but this interest has not manifested as real investments to the same degree as has interest in China and India. The question for institutional investors and new retail investors interested in the Brazilian stock market is whether they are late to the party. Over the past year, expectations for strong growth have fueled a 62.5 per cent gain in the Bovespa index to within a whisker of its all-time high of 73,516.81 in May 2008, giving investors ample reason to think it may be ready for a breather. However, on the fixed income side, any rise in interest rates could lure more investors wanting to benefit from the higher yields.