Dear leapinglizard or pinkfreud,

1.  As you know, I accumulated 200+ bullets on predicting the future
in 2025.  Some were practical, and some were wacky fun.  My big client
was quite impressed with the work.  We all know what that means...more
work!

2.  He's given me two additional tasks.  One is very broadbased, and
the other is very specific.  First, he wants a list of "sure things"
or nearly "sure things."  In other words, trends that have a 80%+
chance of coming true.  His goal has changed.  He wants me to decrease
the creative thinking and increase the practical ways to make a buck. 
 :-)

EXAMPLES:  

*  Between 2005 and 2025, U.S. nursing home population will grow x%
*  These consumer electronics will likely boom:  x,y, and z
*  x energy source will be less important, but y energy source will grow z%
*  x industry will boom in Asia, but y industry will fade into obscurity
*  Buy real estate in x area, but sell real estate in y area

You get the idea.  He now wants to know where to actually invest his money.


The other task is more narrow.  He wants me to present several
investing trends to a non-profit foundation in Idaho.  I would be
addressing the investment committee of the Foundation.  Although the
Foundation invests around the world, he thought it would be fun to
also have 10 specific forecasts for Idaho.

EXAMPLES:

*  Population of Boise will be xxxxxx in 2025.
*  Largest agricultural crop will no longer be potatoes, but watermelons


Unlike the first task above which requires money-making practicality,
I think this second task on Idaho can be more creative.

A 5-star answer would be 12 one-line bullets for the "Money" list, and
10 one-line bullets for the "Idaho" list.


If you don't have time for these two lists, please let me know and
I'll open the question to other researchers.

As always, thanks a million!
ron


P.S.  There may be a follow-on question with 50 to 150 additional
bullets for more money.  But I can't commit to anything until he sees
the results from this question.  Thx!

I'd like to defer to the Lizard on this one. Decreasing the creative
thinking and increasing the practical ways to make a buck leaves me in
the rear of the pack. If I could do that, I'd probably be rich. ;-)

Pink and I are nice, even though we are not rich.  Naughty makes some
of us rich, but too many doing that makes world ecconomic very
unstable. A painful correction is likely sometime in this decade, and
a world wide ecconomic meltdown is not impossible. Medical and
education will have small losses in a mild downturn, but vanity
medicine, vanity education and and most unessentials, could easily
loose half their value.
 If a major meltdown, stored food will be resaleable, those who are
growing poorer storing junk they collected from the neighbors trash
will be able to sell for up to half the new retail prices which few
will be able to afford.   Neil

Thanks, neilzero!

You are right---something big is coming.  But on the other hand,
betting against the U.S. consumer (now the world consumer) has been
historically risky.

These are fascinating times in which we live!

Thanks again.
ron