The paragraphs below come courtesy of Mark Mobius, emerging markets guru and executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management.

I arrived in Tripoli, Libya’s capital and largest city, on a short flight from Athens, Greece, so I appreciated the closeness of this North African country to Europe. Libya is right on the Mediterranean and has Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria and Tunisia as neighbors. Libya is a huge country (1.8 million square kilometers) but 90% of it is desert. The population is only about six million, with about two million living in Tripoli.

Libya at various times in its history was inhabited by Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. It later became part of the Turkish Ottoman empire and then an Italian colony. We got a taste of its ancient history when we took a two-hour drive out of Tripoli to the ruins of the ancient city of Leptis Magna,

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Three powerful investment trends will separate the winners from the losers in the new year. Global commodities prices will continue to move higher. Emerging economies will outgrow their richer, more-mature counterparts. And the countries that were stingy with their monetary and fiscal bailout plans will now reap the benefits; they will outpace the countries that slashed their interest rates to zero and allowed their deficits to soar. One country is poised to profit from all three of those trends. What's more, the political worries that always seem to diminish its allure to investors are poised to recede, making this emerging southern hemisphere heavyweight one of the premiere profit opportunities for 2010. I'm talking about Chile. ...

Make It A Very Happy New Year By Adding This Brazilian Stock To Your Christmas List

by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research Wednesday, December 16, 2009

For years, the western world regarded Brazil as nothing more than a few wealthy elite ruling over a large population of have-nots. And they had good reason to think that way too… until now.

As I detailed back on June 16, the nation has made impressive gains over the past decade, including how it compiled $233 billion in foreign reserves and raised its sovereign debt to investment grade.

The first South American country to escape the recession, Brazil grew by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter and 1.3% in the third. And economists expect it to continue growing into 2010 at a steady 4.5 – 5% rate, unhindered by the rest of the world’s woes since only 13%

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If you're feeling overwhelmed by the investment choices and economic challenges in today's financial markets, that's understandable. As a veteran writer and investor, I can attest that it's all too... Money Morning is here to help investors profit handsomely on this seismic shift in the global economy. Money moves markets. But Money Morning lets you move first.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens are on a collision course with the middle class - but this doesn't mean it's the first market you should consider. A study from The McKinsey Quarterly... Money Morning is here to help investors profit handsomely on this seismic shift in the global economy. Money moves markets. But Money Morning lets you move first.

The Center of the Stock Market Universe… Revealed!

by Robert Williams, Publisher Tuesday, December 15, 2009: Issue #1158

I’m actually quite sick of the BRIC acronym. But at least the “B” is in the right place: First!

Brazilian stocks, as measured by the iShares Brazil Index ETF (NYSE: EWZ) are up 96%, year to date.

That’s right. In a year that began with financial Armageddon, Brazilian stocks were barely stymied, paving the way for the huge move in the middle to latter part of the year.

(For comparison’s sake, China, using the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index ETF (NYSE: FXI) as a proxy, has returned just 46%.)

So given that this is forecast week, I’m going to double-down on Brazil in the coming year.

Fact is, the money flowing into Brazilian corporate bonds, which is fueling the economic boom there,

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The Top Emerging Market Investments in 2010

by Karim Rahemtulla, Options Expert Tuesday, December 15, 2009: Issue #1159

As the size and depth of the U.S. economic recession became apparent in 2008 and continued into 2009, we’ve seen one, four-letter acronym bandied around with increasing regularity.

BRIC.

With investors scurrying to seek better investment opportunities in other parts of the world, the so-called emerging market BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China – have barreled to the front of the line.

This was certainly the case at a very hush-hush Family Wealth Conference that I attended last month. The conference featured some of the wealthiest families in America, and their top investment choice was emerging markets…

Why the allure? Well, for investors of all stripes, America’s financial implosion has proved the importance of diversifying out of the United

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The paragraphs below come courtesy of Mark Mobius, emerging markets guru and executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management.

Asia and Latin America are probably the most interesting emerging market areas in the world. This is not only because of their different cultures but also because their conomic histories have been so varied. If we consider the performance of markets in both areas, the Asian investor might be misled to think that Asian markets have outperformed Latin American markets but that is not necessarily the case in all time periods. For example up to November of this year, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index was up 65% in US$ terms while the MSCI Latin America Index was up 100%. In 2008, the performance of both areas was about the same with Asia moving down 52% and Latin America falling 51%, a slightly better performance than Asia. In 2007, Latin

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Indiarsquo;s Tata Group unveiled a new invention this week that has the potential to be a game-changer for the developing world. The Tata Swach is a portable water purifier that doesnrsquo;t require electricity or running water in order to work. More importantly, the Swach carries a small enough price tag that is affordable to millions of rural Indians. The two-feet tall, 19-liter Swach is expected to last a five-person family about one year. Tainted water is a big problem in India. UNICEF reports that about 380,000 children in India die from diarrhea or other water borne diseases each year. Thatrsquo;s 1.5 times deadlier than AIDS and twice as deadly as road accidents, says Tata. India isnrsquo;t alone. UNICEF reports that 2.2 million people in developing countries, most of them elderly or children, die each year due to unsafe drinking and poor sanitation. Children are the hardest hit with approximately 4,500 children dying each day ...

Brazil’s Proft Potential: Forget China… It’s Time to Bank on the Brazilian Consumer

by Louis Basenese, Small Cap and Special Situations Expert Monday, December 7, 2009: Issue #1152

Hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens are on a crash course with the middle class.

A study from The McKinsey Quarterly supports this well-documented phenomenon, which estimates that it will take two decades before the Chinese nouveau riche reaches its full spending potential.

In turn, they’re convinced that decades worth of profits are up for grabs.

I’m not about to refute that claim here. But instead, I want to caution you: Don’t be blinded by the euphoria over Chinese consumers and overlook an equally compelling opportunity in another emerging market.

Let’s head down to Brazil and I’ll explain why – along with the best way to profit, of course…

Sizing Up Brazil’s Profit Potential

Okay, I get

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