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zerge@hotmail.com wrote:
> U.S. Immigration Could Spell Big Business
>
> Sat Jan 22, 4:01 PM ET Business - Reuters
>
>
> By Reshma Kapadia
>
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - The largest immigration boom in U.S. history is
> expected to lift earnings at companies from discount retailers to
> telecommunications providers, putting dollar signs in the eyes of
> investors looking to cash in on the wave of newcomers, mostly from
> Latin America and Asia.
>
>
> Demographics is "one of the top five tools any macro analyst and
> investment manager should be following," said Robert Justich, senior
> managing director at Bear Stearns Asset Management. "And there has
been
> no bigger demographic change than today's migration."
>
>
> The future looks promising.
>
>
> "If you are forecasting into the next two decades, you are looking at
> an economy with tremendous opportunities in the realm of
> immigrant-related activity," said Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, co-director
of
> immigration studies at New York University. "Never have so many
highly
> educated and highly skilled (people) come into the immigration flow."
>
>
> The last big wave in immigration, from 1900 to 1910, was driven by
> Europeans. Although slightly higher on a percentage basis, the number
> of immigrants in the United States then was less than half of what it
> is today, according to the Center for Immigration Studies based in
> Washington D.C.
>
>
> Census data from 2003 show nearly 12 percent of the U.S. population,
or
> about 33.5 million people, are foreign-born, and demographers see an
> increase in coming years with both legal and illegal immigrants
coming
> to the U.S. seeking greater economic opportunity or religious and
> political freedom.
>
>
> The recent wave is more diverse in terms of countries of origin --
from
> Mexico to India -- and educational levels, said Suarez-Orozco.
>
>
> The largest group comes from Latin America and tend to be younger and
> just starting families, he said.
>
>
> That is certain to drive additional business for those who sell
> clothing, own apartment complexes and build homes.
>
>
> Some retailers such as Sears, Roebuck & Co. (NYSE:S - news) and Kmart
> Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:KMRT - news) are already building brand loyalty
> by targeting potential immigrants in their home countries,
> Suarez-Orozco said.
>
>
> Mario Gabelli, fund manager of Gabelli Asset Management, pointed to
> Spanish-language broadcaster Grupo Televisa SA de CV (NYSE:TV - news)
> (TLEVISACPO.MX) and brewer Femsa (NYSE:FMX - news) as companies
already
> reaping benefits by catering to the Hispanic market.
>
>
> Drawing on the desire to stay connected, satellite companies and
> telecommunications companies benefit as well.
>
>
> "The cost of communication has come down tremendously and people are
> communicating with their homeland like never before," said Bear
> Stearns' Justich, who recently released a paper about illegal
> immigrants and the underground labor force. "In any immigrant
> neighborhood, you will see vendors with calling cards and calling
> centers."
>
>
> HOMEBUILDERS, BANKS TO STAY BUSY
>
>
> Low interest rates are a big part of the reason for increased housing
> demand, but Justich also attributed some of that upside to increased
> migration.
>
>
> Many expect the home buying spree to continue.
>
>
> "Within three to five years of immigrating, they are looking to buy
in
> the low-end entry home market, which will hold up the best," said
Harry
> Dent, investment strategist and founder of Dallas-based H.S. Dent
> Foundation.
>
>
>
>
>
> Saving for housing and education is a priority, but many immigrants
> also send money back to families, creating a major source of foreign
> exchange for some countries and generating business for financial
> services companies.
>
> "Banks understand the size of the marketplace and how big the fees
are
> in remittances," Justich said. "People were paying a lot for
risk-free
> transactions and some of the larger financial institutions have come
> into it."
>
> Growing faster than the average bank are niche banks like Cathay
> General Bancorp (Nasdaq:CATY - news) and East West Bancorp Inc.
> (Nasdaq:EWBC - news), which target specific populations, said Randy
> Watts, a small-cap growth fund manager at Boston Company Asset
> Management.
>
> "If you look at the mean family income for Asian and Pacific
Islanders,
> it is $78,800. That compares to $73,800 for Caucasians. In addition,
48
> percent of Asian and Pacific Islanders have college degrees compared
> with 29 percent of Caucasians," Watts said.
>
> That bodes well for investments in ethnic banks as well as
> education-related companies.
>
> "Asian immigrants are conservative savers. Many open up passbook
> savings, which have a lower cost of deposit for banks, but they also
> are very entrepreneurial," Watts added.
>
> While the current wave of immigrants is more divided than in the past
> when it comes to upward mobility, Suarez-Orozco said all still offer
> opportunities for Corporate America.
>
> "Walk into one of these huge stores, like Wal-Mart, and you can see
who
> the customers are; it's amazing how much Spanish and Chinese is
> spoken," Suarez-Orozco said. U.S. companies "are most definitely
aware
> of the opportunity."
Political hacks and business types who support high levels of
immigration should be tried and executed for treason.
Hank
http://www.newnation.org/index2.html
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