10 Things You Need to Know: Technology Buildout Goes Global

This story is part of a weeklong series that looks at the top 10 trends to help you invest in the coming year. Click on the tile at left to see other stories.

Not long ago, Peter Canelo, a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter markets strategist, asked a group of investors in Europe how many of their firms had a Web presence. Hands went up. He asked about e-commerce initiatives. Hands went up again. It was a big change from a year earlier, when Canelo had asked the same group the same questions, and only a smattering responded affirmatively. ...