Some nano tech thoughts from Bali show a way to gain triple multi dimensional profits AND help the environment.
Rice Paddies in Bali from Brittania.kids.com
Last March I was copied on an email about Bio Wash from Bali.
The email was to Ted Tidwell who manufactures Bio Wash. Here are some excerpts from that email: There is good news for me from Indonesia. Dr. Krishna Pribadi will be personally working together with HydroGrow (brand of Bio Wash). Dr Pribadi did the original trials with Nanogreen and is back on board with PT Hydrotech as my Senior Scientific Advisor and has informed me he is doing a major project in Agriculture for the National Government through his Institute of Technology position.
This is a major breakthrough as Dr Pribadi has national recognition as one of Indonesia’s leading scientists as a nuclear physicist in rocket instrumentation as part of the Indosat team. He did his doctorate at Carnegie Mellon. His knowledge base is very very broad and deep and agricultural science is now his focus as it has been at times in the past.
He stated to me yesterday …quote “I have a 100 million mouths to feed”.
That’s quite a challenge feeding 100 million… even more to do that and leave the soil in condition to feed our children and grandchildren as well.
Ted wrote recently: In Dr. Pribadi’s official government sponsored tests, BioWash increased rice yields from the average two tons per hectare (2.5 acres) to 11 or 12 tons.It increased corn yields from 4-5 tons per hectare to 15.
Bio Wash creates a triple profit boost to those who want to live and/or earn on a farm. This product adds a third dimension to multi dimensional farm property.
The first profit is the wonderful, natural lifestyle of agriculture.
The second profit comes from the second dimension of the land whatever it is… resale, development, rentals, or like at our North Carolina farm… a deep woods seminar center… whatever you see that others do not.
The third profit comes from increasing the yield of your crops using Bio Wash.
We are using this tactic personally in three places.
In North Carolina the Bio Wash kills the Wooly Adelgid blight so I can maintain the existing environment and even provide the potential to start a hemlock nursery… a rare commodity in forests where this tree has been devastated.
Ecuador rice paddies for sale are hard to find as they are very profitable so sell quickly.
Purchasers with Bio Wash have an advantage if they look into rice or corn farming. If the average rice paddy averages two tons per hectare (2.5 acres) or a field produces corn yields four to five tons of corn per hectare then the paddies will be valued around this fact. If you can buy at a price based around two tons of rice or five tons of corn and increases yield 11 tons of rice or 15 tons of corn then you just about triple the value of the land or the income expected.
This all natural bio degradable product offers a win win solutions to creating income, profit and a healthier environment. You can help the environment and improve income at a low cost in numerous ways… turning a multi dimensional opportunity into a triple dimensional property.
Gary
Learn how to create a multi dimensional business opportunity at our Super Thinking + Investing and Business Seminar, February 1-2-3, 2013.
Here is a global diversification trick that may do well in the likely global economic scenario ahead. Buy good value shares internationally as markets dive during the summer dip.
In a moment we’ll look at some Ecuador health ideas… first the investing trick.
Global equity markets have been in a bear market rally for six months but are now hitting the summer blues due to seasonality.
Share prices will probably drop now. Chances are there will be a strong global equity slump at least through October 2009.
This will create extra value in equity markets and provide good opportunity to pick up high value long term.
The bear market is likely to carry on until 2012-13, but good value shares acquired during dips are more likely to spike early and have extra potential after the bear ends.
Now through October 2009 could be a good time to invest in high value shares for long term appreciation.
But which shares… in which markets?
One way to approach this is to look for extra value created by inefficiencies in markets…to find markets where the values are best.
Statistically this is the best way to be absolutely sure of the best long term returns.
There are numerous investment managers who use very strict valuation criteria (usually based on dividend yields, cash flow, price earnings) to spot the best value markets. They then try to apply similar criteria to select good value shares in the good value market.
The next goal is to decide how much should be weighted in major market and how much in emerging markets.
Here is a comparison of the Morgan Stanley Major Market versus Emerging Market indices.
The MSCI World Index is a market capitalization weighted index that measures the equity market performance of developed markets. It includes 23 developed market country indices : Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The MSCI Emerging Market Index includes Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey.
MSCI Indices performances. Total per annum return over:
Major Emerging 15 years 4.10% 5.41% 10 years -3.85% 9.11% 5 years -2.77% 11.16% 3 years -10.81% -00.17% 1 year -20.81% -27.53% 3 mos. 14.30% 27.53%
Regardless of the time frame observed, the emerging equities almost always seriously outperformed major markets… but as a class they also dropped further in the 2008 downturn.
Here is a year-on-year comparison for the past five years.
This history suggests that emerging markets deserve a substantial ranking.
However before becoming too aggressive in over weighting emerging markets, we have to keep in mind two thoughts.
First economic thought. The last 15 years has been a catch-up era when the investing world caught on to the idea that emerging markets offered great opportunity.
Second economic thought. A great deal of emerging growth came from debt financed exports to the developed world. This leaves emerging economies holding huge amounts of debt for customers who may not be able to repay the debt nor continue to buy the same volume of goods as before.
The easiest way for investors to invest in good value during dips is via a value mutual fund.
You can select a value major market fund, a value emerging market fund or a value diversified fund.
The benefit of a value diversified fund is that the professional manager decides how much to weight in emerging and major markets.
For example I just sent a lesson to our multi currency subscribers that showed a US traded international diversified value fund that has risen 36.08% in the past quarter ending June 30, 2009. This fund is 86% in major markets and 14% in emerging markets.
The most valuable asset we can have in tough economic times is good health. This is why we studied Ecuador health ideas at our June tour.
Cotacachi is considered sacred by the shamans… a place of wonderful mountains that ring the valley. This is Mt. Cotacachi to the west.
Mt. Imbabura to the east.
The valley is surrounded by mountains like these twin peaks…
creating wonderful, mystic sunrises.
The first afternoon of the tour we visited La Mirage Spa and the Shamana Estella.
She began a theme that the many shamans we visited confirmed. She said that the three keys to better health, increased longevity, more energy and fulfillment are good nutrition, proper exercise and good sleep.
The purpose of the Ecuador shamanic tour is to learn ways to unlock this healthy combination in a natural low cost way!
The second day we joined Clemencia, the Shamana of Zuleta and drove 15 minutes from our hotel Meson de las Flores to Otavalo market where we visited the local food market…
filled with fruits…
vegetables…
flowers and …
herbs.
Here is the shamana speaking to the group with Merri and Mauricio translating.
We learned the importance of the herbs to make good teas that hydrate the body are cedron, chamomile and lemon verbena.
We learned how other herbs relax such as chamomile and valerian root. Plus we were told to boil lettuce in milk as a prebedtime drink for better sleep.
On the other hand, tea from cinnamon, paprika, cloves and ginger help reduce sluggishness in digestion and to speed the system when we need to be fired up.
My global investing and business began 41 years ago May 2, 1968 and eventually led me to Ecuador.
My background as son of a zoo keeper did not leave me prepared.
Here is a newspaper clipping of my sister Sandra and me feeding a baby lion we kept at home… one of many lions and tigers we raised.
Let me share 41 years of multi currency investing and a couple of important facts I learned that may help you… including what’s happening with the swine flu in Ecuador.
I arrived in Hong Kong in the night, the tropical air so soft it was a velvet mist. Thick evening scents in the fragrant harbor and mellow insects purrings in rhythm with the cacophony of the great city! What a an exotic adventure.
Kai Tak was Hong Kong’s airport then and being American born and bred, I knew nothing about investing aboard.
That was my first airplane trip, first time out of Oregon. Portland to Vancouver, Tokyo to Hong Kong. I melted in my heavy woolen blazer, was weary and afraid but excited too. An incredible global investing journey had begun… and continues to this day.
Here I was, 21 years old.
Here is the first stamp in that first passport. That stamp you might say was my first international investment.
That first stamp makes a point by the way about how to enter and initially work or invest in a country. That first stamp was issued May 2, 1968 and allowed me to stay in Hong Kong until June 2, 1968.
I worked in Hong Kong for quite some time on tourist stamps… coming in for a month at a time. I was developing sales teams in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines at the same time so a month was plenty of time before I exited.
Here is one of my first sales teams… this one in Hong Kong led by John So Kwok Kee (far left – you can guess which one I am).
I built teams from the north in Japan down through Thailand. One of the salesmen we worked with in Thailand, Brian Tracy, returned later to Canada and has had great success in the sales education field.
Starting a business, investigation or residence with a tourist visa is a pretty good idea. This is usually the easiest, most efficient, practical way to begin so you can be sure what you are doing and how you’ll develop a more permanent stay if you want one. In many cases… such as mine… a permanent tourist system is simply the easiest and best.
I began my business in Hong Kong this way and for years I also lived and worked in England on tourist stamps before obtaining my permanent residence there.
A reader recently sent me this note about Ecuador tourist visas.
“Gary, When I was staying at the Hotel, someone mentioned that you do not have a residential visa for Ecuador. Is this correct? How do you spend as much time in the country as you do?”
Here is my rely:
“I spend less than 6 months a year in Ecuador.
“We have heard from others who come stay for 90 days, leave for just a day or two (especially just over the border in Peru or Colombia) and come right back that there are difficulties.
“Our experience is that every time we come to Ecuador we are given a 90 day visa. However we do not stress this system. For example we may stay 70 days and then be away for weeks or even a month or so. Then return for 20 days or so.. then leave for another month etc. The immigration officers look carefully at the total number of days by the end of the year and to help them, I keep a list of each day we have arrived and departed and the page number in our passport… so they can efficiently see we have not been in more than 180 days the maximum allowed on a T-3 tourist visa).
Be careful not to overstay. One reader reported that having done so he was denied entrance upon his return and were not allowed to return to Ecuador for one year.
We have a full report on Ecuador visas and an immigration attorney who helps our Ecuador Living subscribers.
I am also preparing a report for Ecuador Living subscribers to answer this question from a reader yesterday.
“Hi Gary, Wonderful timing, we had tickets to fly from Guadalajara to Quito yesterday, but were stymied by the fact that Ecuador (and Peru) are refusing passengers from Mexico. We understand Ecuador’s borders will be closed for a month to non-residents flying in from Mexico.
We had thought about flying back to the States and then flying to Ecuador, but an electronic scan of our passports would show we’d been in Mexico and we’re not sure what would happen. Any insights? Thanks!
Back to Hong Kong. I began there selling US mutual funds.
When arriving there 41 years ago there is no way I could have known how exciting the next decades would be, how much information, facts, figures, ideas and insights on how to invest globally would be gained. Had I known the mistakes to be made I would probably have run!
Then I moved east again to England and Europe… trying many things.
Thankfully all the trials, tortures and errors were mitigated by much fun and an earnest endeavor to live right and learn.
Here is a newspaper clipping of me with a business partner in my London office on Artillery Row selling square inches of Graceland… not really a very good idea.
Later I imported Rolls Royces and Bentleys from England to the US… a better idea.
One goal at this site is to share basics of global investing and living an international life learned over these 41 years. Global investing has changed so much during this time and is changing even faster now. I am continually forced to rearrange my thinking strategy and tactics at a faster pace.
We offered health courses at our North Carolina farm. Here I am with our son, Jake, with one tactic we taught… a morning dip in a cold creek after exercise… yes that is snow on the banks and no… this not surprisingly did not sell very well either.
Our food as medicine courses taught by Merri in her teaching kitchen at the farm had better attendance!
For almost 15 years now we have been conducting courses in Ecuador. Here I am this year in the meeting room at the Cotacachi museum next to Meson de las Flores on an Ecuador export tour.
This continual evolution has helped Merri and me, our readers and our income continually grow… through good times and bad.
Yesterday April 2009 for example ended with anoter record month for our internet sales. Our 2009 sales (April month on month) were up 48.01% over April 2008, which in turn were up 24.04% over April 2007 sales.
The reason we have survived and progressed amidst this never ending update is that the little stuff shifts and evolves, but the fundamentals remain immutable.
Investing globally is not a panacea, but expanded horizons are. Life is a trip and we have an entire globe to enjoy the ride.
Two years ago on May 2, 2007, I wrote:
History suggests that this is a time when chances are increased for panic and sudden drops in investment markets. Investors who have proven themselves nervous short term thinkers are highly leveraged, in thin, over purchased markets that are easily sinkable boats treading the dangerous waters of May though October when tradition says the currents will most likely be treacherous and surrounded with lots of storms.
Now, that this risk has proven true, history also suggests that we have a once in a life time opportunity.
The way to cash in on this incredible opportunity is the same way I suggested avoiding the collapse two years ago. I wrote then:“One way to get good international investments is to take a long term, expansive international view.”
My first trip abroad 41 years ago was significant because 1968 was the beginning of a new era for world stock markets. When I arrived in Hong Kong the world of investing was dominated by Wall Street. That was about to end. 1968 was the year when the Hong Kong Stock Market began to explode upwards along with Tokyo’s market. What a ride!
The Heng Seng Index was then 100 and rose to 18,000. Anyone who steadily committed money to this market then made a fortune.
I can sum up my investment basic investing and advice in seven sentences.
#1: 1970s. Invest in real estate, gold, silver Japan, Germany, Switzerland and Hong Kong.
#2: 1980s. Invest in real estate, the Tigers, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore Malaysia and South Korea as well.
#3: 1990s. Invest in real estate South America (which led me to Ecuador).
#4: 2000s. Invest real estate, China, India and emerging markets including Ecuador real estate.
#5: Always have an expansive view.
#6: Use stop losses during peaks.
#7: Have an international investment view. Never overextend. Don’t trade too much, just hang on.
This philosophy has reaped millions for Merri and me. Had we been more expansive, we would have an extra $20 million or so. However our conservative approach to business and investing also protected us during the recent melt down of 2007 and 2008.
This may be time to begin taking advantage of the recovery. Panic is subsiding but values are still high. The huge excesses of the US and other government’s will at some stage begin to seriously erode the purchasing power of currencies.
I remain highly diversified from a currency point of view. Here is my current currency breakdown in my liquid portfolio that represents 43% of my total portfolio.
An excerpt from a recent Multicurrencyinvesting.com lesson explains why when I wrote about the currency distribution of investments:
Here is my currency distribution:
Danish kroner 24% Euro 24% British Pound 8% US Dollar 12% Canadian Dollar 3% Norway kroner 4% NZ Dollar 3% Sweden kroner 7% Brazil real 3% Hungary Forint 6% Turkey Try 6%
With more than a third of my liquid position in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian kroner, my Scandinavian position is seriously over weighted in terms of global market size.
One reason is because these are such small countries located on the sea. This means that their histories are composed of travel and trade.
A nation’s heritage reflects in the value of its currency strength. This fact helped me answer this question from a reader.
“Gary, Will future strength in DKK be bad for equities denominated in that currency?”
Here is my reply.
Most of the Danish companies you would buy are global companies.
Because Denmark is such a small market any large Danish company is doing most of its business out of Denmark so a lot of their success depends on the type of business business and where the company actually manufactures and sells its products.
Plus look at the margins built into the product.
One benefit in Scandinavia is their very highly educated population. A recent Time magazine article shows that Finland (not Scandinavian but Baltic and Finland’s currency is the euro – otherwise I would have Finmark in my portfolio as well) ranked number one for educational performance of 15 year olds in math. Denmark was number 10, Sweden number 15 and Norway number 23… all ahead of the US (number 25).
Finland was number one for reading performance of 15 years olds as well. Sweden number seven, Norway number 10 and Denmark number 16. The US was number 15.
This means that the products produced in these nations will tend to be high value.
For example, Novo Norsk makes insulin. I suspect that the margins are substantially high.
Ditto for novozymes that makes enztymes for environmental purification. These are firms where there is likely to be a great deal of value added into their product.
Vestas, makes wind turbines. and may be more affected by a strong kroner if they do a lot of manufacturing in Denmark but are having and sales in the US and especially if their competitors manufacture in the US or other countries where the currency is weak.
I have increased my Ecuador real estate to 22% of my total property. The balance is in US property and I am looking to add more US property now in Florida and or Savannah.
If you have real estate in central Florida or Savannah that you would like to swap for real estate in Ecuador… let me know.
I have held a high cash position for over a year but now agree with Warren Buffet who recently wrote about business and opportunity:
Clinging to cash equivalents or long-term government bonds at present yields is almost certainly a terrible policy if continued for long. Holders of these instruments, of course, have felt increasingly comfortable – in fact, almost smug – in following this policy as financial turmoil has mounted. They regard their judgment confirmed when they hear commentators proclaim “cash is king,” even though that wonderful cash is earning close to nothing and will surely find its purchasing power eroded over time.
Now is the time to convert cash into investments that will appreciate with the loss of cash’s loss of purchasing power… stocks… commodities… real estate or your own business.
This leaves all of us with a lot to do after 41 years of a global life.
I feel healthier and more energetic then 41 years ago. Maybe I am not wiser… but I am more experienced and seem in a better position then when I took that first trip.
Merri and I look forward to the next 41 years… and we look forward to sharing them with you!
Gary
This is the schedule of Gary our 2009 Ecuador information tours, courses and seminars.
Multi currency strategy emerging markets are worth review now. Recent multi currency messages entitled Multi Currency USA and Multi Currency Global looked at the importance of multi currency investments in Europe, Japan and the US.
We continue the multi currency review in this message looking at Jyske Bank’s multi currency strategic review of the biggest emerging market, China. Jyske says:
Seen in the light of a major slowdown in economic growth, Chinese exports will come under heavy fire in the coming months. Given a weaker export sector, and presumably also weaker investments in the private sector as well as slower activity in domestic property-related activities, we anticipate a moderate slowdown in economic growth. By Chinese standards, moderate still means economic growth above 8%, and for the rest of the year, the growth rate will presumably be around 9%, i.e. a growth rate just below 10% for 2008.
International investors have been concerned that the Chinese government would react too slowly to growth risks and that this would send up the risk of a serious setback (i.e. GDP growth rates much lower than 8%). Such fear seems to be out of place, based on the demand figures for July. Foreign trade, retail trade and fixed investments beat expectations although industrial activity is gearing down marginally.
The Chinese authorities have traditionally introduced macro-economic policies supporting economic growth, including an expansionary fiscal policy, monetary-policy easing etc. to avoid a hard landing. We also expect that this will happen this time if growth seems to be too slow. The authorities have recently raised the tax benefit on exports and eased up the tight management of corporate loans in the financial sector.
On the domestic front, the trend in consumer demand is still impressive: July’s 23.3% growth in retail sales was higher than expected. This happened although consumers are squeezed by higher food prices, the solid correction in the Chinese equity market and a slowdown in the real-estate market (although the impact from the two last-mentioned factors was reflected in lower sales figures for cars, furniture and building materials).
With prospects of a moderate slowdown in industrial activity in the coming quarters, the growth in Chinese demand for many important commodities will presumably slow down. Recent data indicate that this trend has already set in: for instance crude-oil imports dropped back by 2.1% m/m in July and by 8.7% in June whereas iron ore imports dropped by 4.2% and 3.5% in these two months.
This suggests that investors are more worried about China than they should be. Chinese growth looks dimmed, but by most financial measures even this dimmer light is bright compared to economics in most countries. The fundamental economic fact is that China is the most populated nation on earth racing into middle class capitalism.
Equity investors may have over reacted and oversold the Chinese market.
In August, the LA Times wrote: SHANGHAI — Many Chinese investors had hoped the Olympics would give a boost to their nation’s sagging stock market. So far, just the opposite has happened. The benchmark Shanghai composite index tumbled 5.3% on Monday, falling for the sixth time in seven trading sessions. The index has plunged 15% since the Beijing Games opened Aug. 8, and it now stands at 2,320 — down 56% since the start of the year, making it one of the worst performers in the world.
Since then the market has not rallied.
The Guardian wrote yesterday (Sept. 8, 2008): The main Shanghai index <.SSEC> shed 2 percent on Monday, touching a fresh 20-month low, despite a rally elsewhere in Asia triggered by the takeover of the two firms.
The U.S. Treasury’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is good news in the short term for China, the biggest holder of the giant mortgage lenders’ debt, but Beijing’s huge U.S. exposure still poses a serious risk, a prominent government researcher said on Monday.
The Shanghai stock market is down 67% in less than a year. Yet as Jyske noted above, foreign trade, retail trade and fixed investments are beating expectations.
This is the type of multi currency distortion we look for as value investors.
This does not mean we should jump headlong into Chinese shares.
China according to the analysis of Michael Keppler remains one of the low value markets. Keppler’s sell candidates are China , Egypt , India , Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco.
Market timing rarely works. Value investing is far more effective and based on value alone, it apears to be too soon to jump in the Chinese market in a broad way.
However we can start reviewing Chinese opportunities looking for specific values.
One share to check is Hyflux Water. Hyflux is a Singapote company that provides water services in China. Keppler ranks Singapore as a low value major market along with Austria , Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S.A, but Hyflux may offer good value now.
Stimulating ideas and useful resources to help you live a healthier,
more affluent and fulfilling life. Enter your email address and I'll
send your first issue in the morning:
