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GROWING RICH WITH GROWTH STOCKS<br />
was particularly impressive to me when I <strong>com</strong>pared the quality of life<br />
100 years ago with today. In addition, we have almost eliminated the<br />
threat of nuclear war. We have a much smaller chance of a serious,<br />
large war than ever before in history. I believe that well-managed,<br />
growth-oriented U.S. <strong>com</strong>panies are uniquely suited to successfully<br />
<strong>com</strong>pete in this worldwide marketplace. Some are household names<br />
no matter where you happen to live. Others are technological powerhouses<br />
whose leadership in various areas of expertise is unquestioned.<br />
As the standard of living continues to rise in nations such as China,<br />
Indonesia, and Malaysia, so will the demand for American goods,<br />
services, and technology.”<br />
Papp’s conviction was heightened by a trip to Asia in November<br />
1998. “I went to Hong Kong and Japan to review the economic situation<br />
there,” he shares. “The economy in Hong Kong is still declining<br />
modestly. On the positive side, the people are hardworking, intelligent,<br />
and well disciplined. The Japanese economy started having problems<br />
about eight years ago. I expect a continuation of this at least through<br />
the new millennium. The hotels and restaurants in Japan were quite<br />
sparse. How fortunate the U.S. has been to have enjoyed eight wonderful<br />
years while Japan has suffered. I see this trend continuing. My<br />
fundamental problem with Japan is its unwillingness to accept a free<br />
market and price <strong>com</strong>petition, which results in almost all goods and<br />
services costing more there than in the United States. While I still<br />
believe the twenty-first century will be the Asian century, this trip<br />
reinforced my belief that the safest, most profitable way to participate<br />
in this growth is by owning the American multinational <strong>com</strong>panies<br />
that do business there.”<br />
PEACE PROPELS PROFITS<br />
The current peaceful environment, and opening up of international<br />
markets to U.S. <strong>com</strong>panies, are powerful developments that Shelby<br />
Davis also feels could lead to years of financial prosperity for both<br />
America and its equity investors. “We’ve had a gigantic peace dividend<br />
that’s been rightly recognized by the market,” he says. “The other<br />
thing that’s happened is we’ve seen a tremendous focus on the<br />
evolving American business model, which calls for concentrating on<br />
your core business, keeping an eye on the bottom line, and giving<br />
workers incentives to build on it. Companies are getting rid of low-<br />
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