December 14, 2006

TERROR-FREE INVESTING: "The idea of 'shareholder democracy' is today much bruited about, but whatever connotations that term has acquired, at bottom it means investors have a "vote" -- that is, they can choose where to put their money, and where not. That kind of democracy assumes a new urgency in the post-9/11 world, as tens of billions of dollars are currently surging into countries that sponsor terrorism. . . . In this case, shareholders -- citizens -- have the power to influence. If American investors in these businesses -- not only institutional investors such as public pension systems, money managers, investment trusts and university endowments, but also individuals -- pressure companies to sever such business relations, they can become change agents in the financial sector and force multipliers for our troops abroad."