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MmeGigs -> RE: Stocks that are doing well in the recession (3/24/2009 5:50:43 PM)
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On the radio a few weeks back, an economist (don't remember who) was talking about how economic downturns are incubators for the Next Big Thing. He used FedEx as an example. There wasn't anyone doing overnight delivery before they started doing it in the early '70's, and there weren't a lot of businessfolk who really saw a need for it. FedEx really took off (so to speak) in the economic downturn of the early 1980's. Companies that had previously put Joe Jr. Executive on a cross-country flight to hand-deliver time-sensitive stuff or get a contract signed were trying to cut expenses. They could save a bundle by using FedEx, so they did. From the FedEx website - "In fiscal year 1983 Federal Express reported $1 billion in revenues, making American business history as the first company to reach that financial hallmark inside ten years of start-up without mergers or acquisitions." Folks who invested in them in the '70's raked in the cash in the '80's.
I'll be getting a moderate inheritance soon-ish, and after paying off my bills I'll be looking for the Next Big Thing - researching companies that are gearing up for tomorrow's needs rather than today's or yesterday's. I'll be retiring in about 15 years, and I figure that a couple thousand put in the right places now will provide me with a good deal of comfort in 2025. I'll focus on "green", because it's popular with the young folks and is likely to become huge in coming years, and because I find "green" stuff really appealing on a personal level. I'm going to be looking at manufacturers of solar panels and wind turbines and effluence digesters - I expect that on-site electric generation will be a huge factor in tomorrow's energy market, and that those are industries that will be going to go crazy in about 10 years. I'll be looking for companies that turn garbage into something useful, like the folks who make building materials out of waste and recyclables. I'm a bit more iffy about that, because once recyclables become a commodity they get spendy and the industries that use them are not so profitable. I'm not going to invest in electric cars, because in order for them to really take off we'd need a lot of new electric infrastructure, and I don't see that happening in the next 10 years. If I were 15 years younger, though, I'd be looking at electric cars. I may put some money in that for my grandkids.
I will definitely be putting some money into micro-loans through Kiva and similar organizations. I see this kind of thing as the true heart and soul of The Market Economy and as the best way to spread the principles of democracy around the world. I don't much care if I make a profit on those investments, although I understand that they do pay off. I'll be investing there because it will make me feel good. You can't put a price on that.
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