1.   A higher dollar means profits earned overseas buy more yen when earnings are brought home to be tallied.

2.   Eventually potential must translate into performance, which in business, means profits.

3.   Huge demand, both overseas and domestic, means higher profits for soybean processors.

4.   Lower interest rates means higher profits at banks as their borrowing costs fall.

5.   That means profits for forestry companies such as Cia. de Petroleos de Chile SA, or Copec, will see little if any growth over the next few years.

6.   That means profits will be steady and predictable -- two ingredients attractive to buyout firms.