From Amazon
Serious international investors able to choose their own stocks will find a useful reference in
The Top 100 International Growth Stocks. Coauthor Peggy Edersheim Kalb is a financial journalist and former Smith Barney money manager. Scott E. Kalb manages the Smith Barney International Equity Fund. From a universe of 10,000 non-U.S. companies, the authors selected 100 relatively large ones (minimum market capitalization $500 million) that have long demonstrated "an exceptional ability to grow their businesses at superior rates in all kinds of conditions, climates, and political environments." The book offers a three-page report on each of the 100 companies, most of which trade on U.S. markets. Among the top 100 are many household names, from Heineken to Sony. But the list also includes dozens of companies that U.S. investors should know but probably don't, such as Cifra, Mexico's largest food retailer; Astra of Sweden, one of the world's largest drug companies; and Hutchison Whampoa, Hong Kong's preeminent conglomerate. Aside from providing investment leads, the book is a fascinating tour of companies that are shaping the world's economic future.
--Barry Mitzman
From Booklist
Two categories of investments that appeal to those who have decided to diversify their holdings are growth stocks and international stocks. The Kalbs offer a two-in-one strategy for those so inclined to expand. She has written for
SmartMoney and was a portfolio manager for Smith Barney International. He is a managing director at Salomon Smith Barney and a senior portfolio manager for the Smith Barney International Equity Fund. They analyzed more than 10,000 stocks to come up with their list of 100 companies that are capitalized at, at least $500 million and have experienced operating income and net income growths of at least 12 percent compounded over the past 10 years. They also looked at such factors as quality of management and risk. For each of the companies, a three-page description similar in format to a
Standard & Poor's Stock Report is provided. Included is a synopsis of commentary that appears in a company's most recent annual report as well as tables that include 10 years of stock performance data.
David Rouse