Hey Dien:

Amazon has a load of Swing Out Sister albums for sale...

> Hi Michael,

> You may be right. There are many ways to
> profit, even if stocks are going down....

> Some react by buying gold. Others will look
> to buying property. Others may buy bonds.
> And others will short-sell.

> I'm no expert on these other things,
> though....

> It's perfectly legitimate to move your
> investment activities to elsewhere when
> things dry up somewhere else.

> It's like business. If people don't want to
> buy your gizmos in Lapland, sell them in
> Siberia. (Well, you know what I mean.)

> There's a 1980s band I kind of like, their
> name is "Swing Out Sister". They
> had a big hit in the late 1980s with a very
> upbeat song - "Breakout".
> Recently, I decided to look them up online -
> are they still around?

> I got a shock. They are originally from the
> UK, but NONE OF THEIR RECENT ALBUMS ARE
> AVAILABLE IN THE UK (or in the USA or
> Australia for that matter). Guess where they
> are available?

> Japan! Swing Out Sister are VERY BIG in
> Japan!

> What they found was that, their sales in the
> UK and elsewhere dried up. But in Japan -
> their fortunes got higher.

> Nowadays, Swing Out Sister focus on the
> Japanese market - and do very well there.
> Even though they are a British pop group,
> and all their songs are in English!

> Of course, they could have stayed in the UK.
> They could have stopped the pop music game,
> and gone into a different business.
> Perfectly legitimate. But sometimes, if
> you've mastered one thing, it's good to
> stick to what you're good at (and what you
> enjoy).

> Of course, investing in other countries
> doesn't mean you CAN'T do all these other
> things - short selling, buying gold,
> property, etc.

> Thanks, though - you made a good point. :)

> Dien Rice
> (there's a Neanderthal Man in here
> struggling to get out!)