An investment of ¥1,000 in Japan’s Nikkei index would have grown to ¥1,270 over the past 30 years. Meanwhile, $1,000 invested in the US’s S&P 500 would now be worth $8,600. Visit both countries and you might be puzzled that the share price performance of companies could be so mediocre in one and so successful in the other. I am not advocating the state of a country’s public transport system as a reliable investment guide. But the efficiency and cleanliness of Narita airport and the trains into Tokyo contrast dramatically with the shambles of New York’s Newark airport and the city’s oft-vandalised subway.
向日本日經指數(Nikkei)投資1000日元，在過去30年裏會增值到1270日元。與此同時，若向美國標準普爾500指數(S&P 500)投資1000美元，現在將價值8600美元。訪問這兩個國家，你可能會感到困惑，爲什麼一個國家的公司股價表現如此平庸，而另一個國家的表現卻如此成功。我並不是提倡將一個國家的公共交通系統狀況作爲可靠的投資指南。但成田機場和通往東京的列車的效率和清潔，與紐約紐瓦克機場的混亂和經常被破壞的地鐵形成了鮮明的對比。