On Tuesday, the composite index of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange jumped by 1.53 per cent, moving from 857.41 to 870.55 on the back of $1 increases for NEL, Scotiabank and Witco. Given the low interest rates, the high rate of inflation and the unavailability of any other investments that are yielding a competitive rate of return, the question that the high net worth individuals and the cash-surplus working middle class should be asking themselves is this: are you likely to get a better return on your investment from converting and buying US assets or from diving into the local stock market? I personally think the answer is the latter and I have put my money (small as it is) into local stocks-including some of those mentioned in this column. I continue to maintain that 2011 will be the best year for local stocks since 2004 as, apart from the factors mentioned before, there are credible predictions that the economy will recover this year based on Government spending and a resolution to the "dark cloud" problems facing the economy.