The Sterling Effect: Joe Issa Shares Fresh Perspective on International Market Performance

Local businessman Joe Issa, who majored in Accounting and Economics from universities on both sides of the Atlantic has found new research on international market gains instructive, tagging it “a must read”.

Issa, whose Cool Group is being leveraged internationally was referencing a recent Telegraph UK article titled, “The sterling effect: you gain 40pc, but the market is only up 15pc”, which he said, “is quite instructive and makes for good coffee-table reading for investors and policymakers.”

Joseph “Joey” Issa

It said, “this may have distorted British investors’ view of how foreign markets have performed: a boost from the depreciation of sterling could have masked poor performance from the actual assets.

According to the article, the dramatic fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote has boosted savers’ returns from investments in foreign markets, because the dollars and euros which companies earn overseas are now worth more in sterling terms.

It produced a chart showing the differences in returns for investors in the US and European markets according to whether they invested in pounds, dollars or euros.

“Over the past two years, the S&P 500 index of the most significant American companies has returned 42pc to a sterling investor. Over the same period, the pound fell from more than $1.50 to a low of around $1.20, before recovering to $1.32. In US dollars, the S&P 500 has still performed impressively, gaining 27pc in two years.

“In Europe, the gulf between returns in sterling and returns in euros has been more dramatic. Over the past two years, the Euro Stoxx 50 index has returned 40pc in sterling terms, compared with 15pc in euros.

The disparity is more significant in the case of Europe because, while the pound has recovered somewhat against the dollar recently, no such recovery has taken place against the euro. In two years it has fallen from €1.42 to today’s rate of €1.13, slightly above its recent low of €1.09.

“The European market’s recovery from the financial crisis has lagged behind the US, and growth has been far slower. However, European shares are now comparatively cheap,” said investment analyst FE Trustnet.

The article cited a global survey of fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which found that “the eurozone is, after banks, the sector about which professional investors have most dramatically turned optimistic relative to the past 15 years.”

“The most significant disparity between sterling and local currency returns is seen in Japanese shares. Japan’s Topix index has gained 44pc in sterling terms, compared with just 15pc for a local investor in Japanese yen.

“Japan has struggled to escape the deflation that followed the collapse of an asset bubble in 1992. Now, a greater degree of political stability, and the continuation of the economic recovery programme instituted by Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, are giving investors hope.,” the survey found.

As in Europe, the fund managers polled in the Bank of America survey are now said to be far more heavily invested in Japan relative to the past 15 years.

Joe Issa Gives an A-plus Rating to New Event on JMA Calendar

Member of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Past President Advisory Committee Joe Issa has welcomed the latest addition to the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) calendar of events, describing it as an “excellent” idea and a ‘shot in the arm’ for Jamaican businesses and the economy.

Joseph Issa

 

Issa joins Jamaica Promotions (JAMPRO) Chairman Don Wehby and Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Karl Samuda, who have lauded the vision of the JMA for its inaugural staging of Jamaica International Exhibition (JIE).

“I applaud the JMA president [Metry Seaga] and his team for coming up with the idea of another international trade exhibition to boost uptake of its members’ products. The event is also a shot in the arm for the Jamaican economy,” says Issa, who in an interview.

Issa notes that “international trade shows create an excellent platform for the promotion of the country’s exports which, for decades has lagged behind imports, thus creating a massive trade deficit and putting pressure on our foreign exchange.

“I particularly like the idea of hosting the exhibition in the tourism capital as it will reinforce and strengthen the strong links between manufacturing and tourism,” says Issa, who has been a big supporter of the one-of-a-kind exhibition, JAPEX, dubbed ‘the island’s premier travel trade show’ and serves as a platform to promote leading Jamaican suppliers of the island’s tourism product.

Issa, who chairs the board of the St. Ann Development Company (SADCO) which has a massive stake in the tourism sector and is also head of Cool Corp, one of Jamaica’s largest retail conglomerate, says the JIE will be “a great sourcing ground for both local and international companies seeking to increase their product offerings.”

Only recently, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett launched five new tourism linkages networks – sports and entertainment, shopping, knowledge, health and wellness, and gastronomy – which, in addition to manufacturing and agriculture, would further diversify Jamaica’s tourism offerings, create business opportunities and increase the use of local goods and services within the tourism sector.

Noting that the upcoming JMA exhibition in the convention centre is timely and will benefit many sectors, Issa says, “It will provide opportunities to support recent measures for many sectors of the economy,” citing Minister Bartlett’s recent addition to the tourism linkages networks, which cut across Minister Sumuda’s portfolio, as well as those of Dr Tufton, Minister Grange and Minister Reid.

While stating that the exhibition provides a platform for several sectors to showcase their products to local and international hotels and restaurants, Issa says, “There will be many other suppliers from Jamaica, the region and the global community, who do business with supermarkets, wholesalers and retailers they might be interested in our value-added agro-products, our famous spices, our nutraceuticals, our manufactures, clothing and accessories, and many other local products.”

He adds, “Some foreign companies may also be interested in our growing BPO sector, creative industry and our athletic sport and entertainment products…there may even be promoters looking to tap into how Jamaica puts up its world-renowned stage shows…moreover, we must not forget venture capitalists, who may be interested in our inventions and products and take positions in Jamaican companies,” says Issa, whose over-50 companies are being leveraged internationally.

 

Joseph Issa finds Indian Humanitarian Quote Inspiring

If technology and steel have anything in common, it can be found in what Joe Issa describes as “two different individuals sharing the same sentiment about what people should do with their wealth”, as he leaps across two distinct fields of endeavour, two separate hemispheres and two centuries, to find inspiration.

Joseph “Joey” Issa

 

Issa, himself a philanthropist, says he finds inspiration from a quote by Indian technology tycoon Azim Premji, which is reminiscent of the famous 19th-century excerpt by Scottish-American steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie.

“Whenever I read a quote from Mr Premji’s it reminds me of how privileged I am, and therefore, my duty to give back to the less privileged in order to improve their world,” said Issa, founder of the Cool Group of over 50 companies that are being leveraged internationally, with the objective of making the group a global corporation.

Premji, who is 4th in the world after giving away US$8 billion so far to charities, once said: “I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly, to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged.”

“There is also another compelling reason for giving back to the underprivileged in communities,” Issa said, arguing that he could not have made it without them, as he referenced a quote by Carnegie that said: “No man can become rich without himself enriching others…”

Issa, who at one time was giving away over J$500,000 a month in scholarships to underprivileged Jamaican children, according to the Business Observer, adds, “I especially like Mr Premji’s (quote) and his belief that riches are meant to be shared among the less fortunate.”

According to Forbes, Tech magnate Azim Premji’s US$7.7-billion-revenue company Wipro Limited (ADR), India’s third-largest outsourcer, has been on a buying spree to boost growth, with his most recent acquisition being Appirio, a cloud consulting firm based in Indianapolis.

At age 71, Premji is rated 72nd among the world’s billionaires, with a net worth of US$16.5 billion as at July 11 this year. He is also No. 4 among India’s most affluent and is ranked 13th on India’s most vibrant tech list. He is also India’s 61st most influential person.

Moreover, like Issa, he has studied at a prestigious US university – Issa at College of the Holy Cross majoring in Accounting and Economics, and Premji at Stamford majoring in Arts and Science – as well as being married, with two children.

Joe Issa: “Trust in Belief That Better Will Come!”

Executive Chairman of Cool Group of Companies Joe Issa, who has served the St. Ann business community for decades, shares the current heightened confidence in the economy, urging businesses to maintain their optimism and faith in 2017.

“I share the confidence felt by the business sector and consumers; it is a good feeling, especially when you have more to spend and resources like assets to put to work and create jobs, especially at a time of low and stable inflation.

“I want to encourage them and to say to them to trust in their belief that better will come,” says Issa, who is a member of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Past President Advisory Committee.

Issa, who was being interviewed at the time about the prospects for the Jamaican economy for 2017, was referencing the latest Don Anderson poll which shows that confidence and optimism in the economy have remained high throughout the year.

“This is excellent news for the prospects of the Jamaican economy. I would like to encourage the business sector, in particular, to maintain their optimism and confidence and to start reinvesting to grow the economy,” Issa says while calling for support for the government’s growth measures which are already beginning to bear fruit.

Noting that the current optimism of the business community is a continuation of the momentum brought by the package of measures leading to and after the February 2016 general election, Issa says, “What we see today is the same kind of optimism we saw just before and after the general election.”

Research shows that for the first quarter of last year, a Don Anderson Survey said the business sector in Jamaica had not been as optimistic about the economy ever since the announcement of a package of economic policies by the JLP leading to the general election.

The survey, which found that optimism had reached a 15-year high in the first quarter of 2016, was sponsored by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and published in the Business Observer.

Stating that optimism had increased by 17.6 percent for the first quarter of 2016, compared with the last quarter of 2015, the JCC was quoted as saying that “while the first quarter gains were widespread across firms, the largest gain was in how firms judged the prospects for the Jamaican economy – surging 57 percent from last quarter to result in the 15-year peak.”

The report noted that “new peaks were also recorded in profit expectations as well as investment intentions.”

In emphasising the similarity of the four quarters of 2016, Issa says confidence and optimism remain high in all of them, showing a continuation of the momentum experienced in the first quarter.

According to the latest Don Anderson report, business and consumers enjoyed the most extended ever period of economic optimism, with Anderson saying “these surveys have never before recorded as long nor as high a sustained period of economic optimism.”

Economic confidence among Jamaican firms is said to have increased to an index of 142.0 for the fourth quarter of 2016, up from 139.2 in the third quarter, and that it remained at record high levels for all four quarters of 2016 than at any time over the last 15 years.

Cool Biz Helping Jamaicans Control Their Destiny

Thanks to the Joe Issa’s Cool Biz, many people are now controlling their destiny, and that is how it did it – get them to sell phone credit and earn a commission. It is that simple!

Guthrie, who says he now controls his destiny after joining Cool Biz to augment his salary, looks back and says the move has changed his life and made it more comfortable for his budget.

“Cool Biz has impacted my life drastically. I have been with Cool Biz for over three years, and my current salary could not maintain my lifestyle.

“I started earning over $60,000 in commission on Cool Biz, and in addition to my salary I could pay all my bills every month and still have money left to save toward my goals and treat myself to something nice,” he says.

Guthrie adds, “I can take my business anywhere,” stating, “I would recommend this business to any and everyone who wants to earn some extra money to achieve their goals. Cool Biz is the way to go!”

For many young people, it is a struggle to pay bills, and Finley is no exception. He said he had had enough problems paying his bills.

“I was always struggling with bills, school fees and not having enough money to take care of my kids until I was introduced to Cool Biz.

“It was not all that much at first, and there were discouraging moments, but I saw the potential of the business, and I had a need; so I put some work in it,” says Finley.

He said that he started small as there wasn’t much money “but as I encouraged others and got them signed up, I gradually saw my earnings.”

“I started earning $800 in commission, and now after a year, I am making over $40,000 in commission monthly and climbing, Finley says.

Another Cool Biz client, Boyd, says “Cool Biz has been the best programme I could have ever become a part of. As a single mom and a full-time employee, there were always challenges and financial problems.”

Shopping was one of her major issues “as there was never enough time to do everything,” he says, adding, “Now I have built the business and have several active legs.”

“I now earn an extra $30,000 every month, and I have the convenience of placing my orders for most of the items I would normally purchase on a month end and picking them up at my closest Cool Biz pickup point. No hassle! Less stress! Much rewards!”

Joe Issa – Entrepreneurship in Schools

To start with, it was Civics. Now, entrepreneurship is to enter the educational modules in Jamaican schools, a move hailed by Joe Issa, as having the capacity to change the way instruction is seen and how it is utilised after school life to employ or be employed.

“The presentation of entrepreneurship in the schools’ curriculum is a long-awaited move that has the ability to transform the way we view a school education, in terms of its definitive utility value: to help find a job or to help create jobs,” says Issa, founder of the famous Cool Group of companies that are being leveraged globally.

Issa, a multi-award winning entrepreneur, was reacting to news that Entrepreneurship is to be launched at all levels of the education system as part of the schools’ curriculum, stating that it is prominent to start it at an early age to build the foundation and momentum at the higher levels.

“For too long we have prepared school children strictly for the job market, which has been shrinking over many years because of lack of economic growth. By introducing entrepreneurship, we are giving, maybe half of all school leavers another possible source of earning an income, such as going into business.

“This means we will get two bites of the cherry: Firstly, we will have created the next generation of Jamaican entrepreneurs, not only to continue and build on the business landscape but to modernise processes to international best practices. Secondly, with about half of school leavers going into business, this will not only reduce the competition for scarce jobs but will add new jobs to the market,” Issa says.

Pointing out the importance of maintaining the highest standard of education in schools, Issa says, “We should continue to emphasise preparation for matriculation to higher education or top entry-level jobs, both of which have been known to be used as a stepping stone for entry into the business.”

Noting that the move also has the potential of unlocking investments, Issa says, “There is a saying that there is always more money than there are good projects, which means that if you have a good project, you will find the money to fund it, either from the bank, the government’s support fund to assist the growth of the small and medium-size business sector or private investors.”