16 - Wednesday, August 11, 1999 — North Shore News FAMOUS trend predi- cator Faith Popcorn says businesses can’t ignore women. Women “hold up half the sky.” They are major and growing inthuences in almost all businesses. In most families today, women decide or influ- ence large expenses including car purchases, health care choices and which personal computer to buy. “Evervthing matters for women,” said Popcorn” last Thursday during the Power of Women talk at Canada Place Fiusis convention centre More than 2,000 women attended. pay ing S300 plus per person. Popearn was one af enght speakers thar included nul. millionaire businesswoman Paula Nelson, 60-minute cor- respondent Lesley Stahl. comedienne Kathy Buckley, activist Gloria Steinem, Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, astronaut: Dr. Mae Jemison and country music superstar Naonw Judd. Popcorn said that “every- thing” including the “ethical background” of a company is important ta women. For teering north shore news & BUSINESS Everything matiers to women FAITH Popcorn con- sumer trend consultant to major corporations example women consider whether Nike shoes are made by third world children: in deciding to buy the brand. Popcorn said the trends for women in the 2000s are: ®@ cocooning ~~ staying home view, continued from 1990s; B clanning -- “people like as activities, poeple “clubbing” and wanting to belong; B99 lives -— the hurry up, ne inte to shop or hsten to com: mereials Hiiestyle. Businesses should go to the client, sug gests Popeorny B® “atmos tear” -— the sky is falling view towards pollution and cavironment. “The trust level is low in this area. Water and air filtration businesses should do well, says Popcorn; @ “ego™-nomics — women feel depersonalized. They crave recognition and a prod- uct “who cares who she is.” In Japan, custom-made $300 dolls that look like real chil- dren are trendy; @ being alive — alternatives to medical doctors, organic toods, exercise and spirituality. —aAnna Marie D'Angelo MORTCAGES WHEN THE BANKS SAY “NO” 687-2020 INSTAPUND Financtal Services Ltd. VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.instafund.com Lender Hroker fees may apply oa Increase investments with stock dividends WHAT a difference div- idends — and other investment income — can make. Over the long term, you can easily double vour rerurn by reinvesting dividends, com- pared with the stock's price appreciauon gone. That's why the dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) offered by many major Canadian and U.S. companies can really pay off if vou dons need the dividends for income. DRIP companies allow you to automatically reinvest your dividends in additional odd fots and trac- tions of shares without broker- age commission. Of course, dividends aren't guaranteed any more than share price increases are. And outside an RRSP or RRIF, you must pay tax each year on the dividends, although the dividend tax credit for - Canadian shares helps cut the tax bill, By comparison, when you invest only for capital gains, you pay no tax until you sell the underlying investment. In other words, your asset can compound tax-free, just like an RRSP or RRIF. Still, when you invest in liaranteed’29 mi ate ourdnext ones F ius at yout tocat - CARTER CHEVROLET-OLSDMOBILE 937-5231 Recency PontTiAc-Buic | K-CADILLAC-GMC 985-6333 the stock market vou should consider the shares of compa- nies with a solid wack record of paying steadily increasing dividends, or mutual funds that tend to hold such shares. In the best of all worlds, you then stand to get both the dividends and also the tax-free compounding. And if prices drop, hopefully ar feast the dividends wilf continue. When you invest for income, you can choose com- panies that pay dividends at different imes (the same applies to bond and GIC interest) to provide a fairly regular income stream throughout the year. The Investment Reporter periodi- cally publishes a handy list of when its key stocks pay divi- dends; the last report appeared May 14. Turning to real estate, I have always encouraged peo- ple to buy property that pro- duces income rather than just land. Again, you can earn income whichever way prices move. And as long as you have the potential to generate income, you may deduct expenses denied to you if the property produces no income. Finally, remember to include both income and price changes when you calculate your investment return. If you earn 5% in dividends or net rent and the underlying asset rises 10% during the year, the income boosts your total yield to 15%. If prices drop 10%, your loss is cut to 5%. Mike Grenby is a colusnnist and independent personal financial adviser. He'll answer questions in shis column as space allows but cannot reply personally, Contact him at PO. Box 50029, South Slope R.P.O., _ Burnaly, B.C. V5] 5G3; e-mail . MP3: end of an era From page 15 ing MP3 files. As you can imagine there are lots, but my current favourite is . Make sure you download the scour media agent, another small piece of software which assists in locating and downloading your music and enter the name of your favourite artist. Download and play it. it’s that simple. Wayne Hunter is president of the Nolte Pacific Group, a merchant capital and finan- cial services company. Send him e-mail at .