http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=44868

MICHAEL KUSER

ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News

  Foreign investors will continue to be interested in Turkey as long as it appears to be stable and heading in the right direction, said John W. Bachmann, senior partner of the Edward Jones securities firm and chairman of the executive committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

  Bachmann has spent a lifetime in securities trading and appears not to even look at the daily stock ticker. He said many people in Ankara and Istanbul had asked him what effect this month's currency devaluation and stock market woes would have on foreign investors.

  “We look at underlying trends, not at the news of the day,” he said. “Jones is still a partnership even though we have 30,000 employees on three continents, but now as a board member of other corporations I see the pressure on some of these executives to meet monthly or quarterly targets, and I think it's terribly counterproductive. People get upset over 77 cents versus 78 cents, when they should be focused on running their business. Turkey will be fine if it follows its track.”

  Bachmann came to Turkey last weekend to address the 61st general assembly of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Exchanges (TOBB) and spoke to the Turkish Daily News before he departed yesterday for Finland.

  “As the United States Chamber of Commerce we see growing interest in finding ways of working together, with Turkish business development centers,” he said. “The chamber is pleased that Turkey has begun the process of European Union membership accession. Europe is by far the leading trade partner for the U.S., whether you're talking about the movement of goods or direct foreign investment, and we'd like to see Turkey to continue to move in that direction. The longer the country is stable, the more attractive it becomes to U.S. investors, which we've seen most recently with General Electric's investment in Garanti Bank.”

  The EU last year declared Turkey to be a functioning market economy, and some people might celebrate as if they've arrived somehow, but “economic development is not a destination, it's a journey,” he said. “You have to maintain and nurture what you achieve. There's no sitting still when you live in a world full of other people who want the same things you do.”

  Bachmann said he found Turkish business leaders eager to expand trade relations and also to continue to strengthen nation-to-nation relations, ties that sometimes come under strain. “We see Turkey as one of our staunchest allies, going back to World War II,” he said.

  The youth of Turkey's labor force impressed him. “At a time when other countries are seeing a dramatic shift in their demographics, with declining birth rates and an aging work force, Turkey is poised where this youth factor can be a big asset,” he said. “Turks are viewed as good workers, and you don't have to have the lowest wages if you're efficient. And Turkey seems very stable compared to what's around it. As a strong and vibrant country it makes an attractive ally.”

In grade school I was taught that the USA, Canada and UK where on two continents unless of course EJ has a opened branches in Australia??