Suggestions for long-time, lowmaintenance portfolio

This Bizword columm involves a summary of three financial services leaders and four industrial leaders for a long-term, low maintenance portfolio.
Financial services stocks selected are Goldman, Sachs of the United States, Manulife of Canada and ICICI Bank of India. Industrial stocks chosen are Cemex of Mexico, CRH of Ireland, Italcementi of Italy and U.S. based General Cables.
For a long-term window on the financial sector, Goldman, Sachs is hard to beat. The company operates as investment banker, merchant banker, securities trader and, asset manager, the latter especially for wealthy clients.
Major investments in growing economies include India, Russia, China and Brazil with a chunk dedicated to the growth industry of the 21st century - alternate energy and the environment.
Five year average annual net income growth is 32 per cent.
Manulife, the only Canadian company in the group, is the world's fifth largest insurer with a large U.S. wealth management division.
Insurance and wealth management in China, Japan and other Asian countries gives Manulife a window on Asia as well as North American businesses.
ICICI Bank is the largest by market value in the growing nation with operations in retail, commercial and investment banking. One-fifth of revenues are international.
The bank is set to cash in on consumer income growth, issuing three million credit cards a month. Indian middle class consumers, at 33 million in 1996, reached 50 million by 2002 and will number 98 million by 2010. High income consumers will have grown from one million to 10 million in that period.
Three of the four industrial companies chosen are grounded in the cement business. That happened because Yours Truly sees cement/redi-mix as one of the most stable yet growing sectors on the globe. Cement is the world's number two building product.
Cemex of Mexico has grown globally by acquisition to number three in the world with 103 million tonnes capacity. Acquisition of Australian-based Rinker in 2007 exposed 40 per cent of business to the U.S., up from 25 per cent.
Management is adept at trimming costs in acquisitions and may have paid off the Rinker debt in two years. One-fifth of business is from Europe, six per cent from Asia.
CRH of Ireland operates in building materials, aggregates, concrete and redi-mix with a focus on expanding its Eastern European/Mediterranean operations and a tiny Chinese operation. CRH is buying some Rinker assets from Cemex.
Italcementi, mainly in Italy and Europe, has acquired and built substantial operations in North Africa, Mediterranean basin and Mideast, with growing business in China, India and Kazakhstan - all regions requiring huge increases in cement production.
Traded on the U.S. pink sheets in low volume, Italcemenri is better acquired through Italy and your broker.
General Cables of the U.S. has become a low-cost provider of quality cable for the growing electrical transmission and telecommunications industry.
An acquisition of the Phelps Dodge cable unit in 2007 gave General Cables more clout and a sound foothold in growing Asian markets for the future. Three-quarters of revenues are generated outside the U.S., and will boost earnings as the U.S. dollar slides in value.
Next week: eight consumer and resource stocks for the long-term.
Bizword columns do not solicit buying or trading of securities. Investors need to do their own homework or consult advisers.

Ron Walter can be reached at 691-1264.