In this year's Barron's Roundtable, one of Meryl Witmer's picks was Rolls-Royce PLC -- the aerospace and engineering company, not the car company. Rolls trades in London and is unquestionably a fine outfit. But I didn't bite on the stock because it had already appreciated by the time her recommendation appeared in print. It could still turn out to be a fine stock -- and look really good four years from now.
Still, it would have to drop in price to get me excited. Shares closed in London yesterday at 420.75 pence each. They went for 267 pence in a year ago.
Yet who knows? With some predicting tough times ahead for the UK market, maybe an opportunity will pop up.
One thing Witmer mentioned in recommending Rolls-Royce was Sir John Rose, its CEO. He wrote an opinion piece the other day in London's Telegraph that caught my eye. His subject is how science can create value and growth for high wage countries:
There are only three ways of creating wealth - you dig it up, grow it, or convert it to add value. Anything else is merely moving it about. In a high wage economy you must focus on high converted-value activities. To achieve high converted value you need good education and differentiating skills.
Keep in mind when reading the linked article that he's writing to a British audience. But the thrust of his thinking applies to those in the US, Canada and other developed countries.
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