Profit from Population Growth: 7 Billion People on Earth

You may have seen the most recent headline that the World Population is now 7 Billion Human Individuals.

Can we profit from this?

1. Water Infrastructure:
   
   Water Infrastructure will be needed to support the growing population.
   You can play this with the PowerShares Global Water Portfolio ETF (PIO) or the Powershares Water Resources ETF (PHO). Individual company names can include companies such as Tetra Tech (TTEK).
   
   
2. Agriculture
   
   The growing population will require more food and more efficient food. You can play this with companies such as Monsanto (MON), the Bio-engineering stock of agriculture. Monsanto even has drought resistant crops, and can also be a play on Global Warming / Climate Change.
   
   Or, you can invest in companies such as Potash (POT), a fertilizer company.
   
   ETFs include Powershare's Global Agriculture ETF (PAGG).
   
   
3. Infrastructure
   
   Infrastructure will need to support the growing population, and there may be more urbanization in the future.
   
   There are many infrastructure companies out there such Siemens (SI), General Electric (GE), and ABB Ltd (ABB)
   
   
4. Environmental Cleanup and Waste
   
   More people means more waste and more industrial waste.
   
   Companies in this sector include Waste Management (WM), Clean Harbors (CLH), and U.S. Ecology (ECOL).
   
   

Profit from Big Government Healthcare Waste

There is a trend towards Big Government and Big Government Health Care, especially with the traditionally Big Government and Big Health Care Democrats having control of both the Executive and Legislative Branch of the United States.

With so much money being spent on Health care, Government sponsored Health care, there is a niche area to recover much of the waste and inefficiencies.

HMS Holdings (HMSY) is an $800 Million company that does just that.

HMS Holdings is the nation's leader in coordination of benefits and program integrity services for government health care programs. The company’s clients include health and human services programs in more than 40 states, 80 Medicaid managed care plans, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Veterans Administration facilities. HMS helps ensure that health care claims are paid correctly and by the responsible party. As a result of the company’s services, government health care programs recover over $1 billion annually, and avoid billions of dollars more in erroneous payments.

HMSY has a Forward PE of 32.20, and 5 year estimated growth rate of 26%, for a PEG of around 1.25 (PEG under 1 is a value, over 2, is too expensive).

The Stock chart of HMSY is showing strength (as of January 20, 2009), and the stock is above both the 50 day and 200 day moving average even in a bad market.

On January 13, 2009, HMSY has updated its earnings guidance for fiscal year ending December 2008, and due to better than forecasted business performance for the fourth quarter of 2008, the company is revising its 2008 full year EPS guidance from $0.77 to a range of $0.78 to $0.79.

All of this good news is occurring in a bad market.

The Company's website is www.hmsholdings.com.