There are many places that Warren Buffett may choose to invest Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A / BRK.B) capital. At the same time you can be sure there are places he will not set foot. It is not likely he will invest anywhere that does not have a vibrant, well-established stock market with a stable government. So, Mr. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela will not likely see any capital deployed from the likes of "my pal Warren" any time soon.

As a matter of fact, I would put the chances at slim of any South American country, besides Brazil, getting a look at all. Brazil is just too big and too vibrant to ignore. I would rule out Africa entirely except for indirect investments in oil and minerals through large conglomerates. The closest thing in the region would be Israel, at the furthest western reaches of Asia. He has already invested there and there is a high probability he would again. Investors from most of Europe and Asia have done the same, although many would rather not discuss it.

He has also invested in China, Great Britain, South Korea, and Switzerland. I would expect more money to be plowed into all of them again without reservation if the right deal materialized.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

International investing expert Nicholas Vardy looks to the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (AMEX: EEM) as his favorite investment idea for 2009.

In his Global Stock Investor, he explains, "The exchange-traded fund is a bet that the initiatives of policy makers across the globe will be sufficient to trigger a sustained bounce in emerging markets stocks between now and the end of 2009.

"The policy responses to the global economic crisis have been both massive and coordinated. The European Central Bank has entered into foreign currency swaps with Iceland and Switzerland, even though they are outside the eurozone.

"The European Union joined forces with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to provide loan facilities totaling $25 billion to Hungary.

"Recently, the U.S. Federal Reserve opened swap lines of $30 billion each to Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Singapore. All of these efforts combined will ease the shortage of dollars that has ravaged emerging markets.

Recent reports highlight U.S. investors' strong and continuing interest in foreign markets. In many cases, cash is being invested indirectly, often through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that mirror the currency-adjusted performance of publicly-traded shares in countries around the world.

While there are any number of fundamental reasons for choosing one nation's equity market over another, sometimes interesting opportunities crop up that seem, at first glance anyway, mainly technical in nature.

A comparison of the relative performance of the country funds for the United Kingdom and Germany, both based in Europe and subject to a number of the same macroeconomic influences, would seem to suggest such an opportunity.

A couple of years ago, in an outburst of nationalism, I decided that I wanted to invest in Israeli stocks. As you can imagine, there are pretty limited options for Americans wanting to buy an all-Israel mutual fund, but I eventually did find one: it was called the Amidex.

Reading the prospectus reveals some disturbing information: the total expense ratio for the company is 3.39%! And according to the website, the fund "invests in the 35 largest Israeli companies traded on Wall Street or in Tel Aviv." So it's an index fund with an expense ratio of 3.39%, hmm ...

Morningstar published an informative piece about investing in international funds today and, not surprisingly, most of the same rules that apply to investing in American funds apply to global investing as well. The first line of the article is telling: "Investors who overlook high costs as they shop for international funds do so at their own peril." Although higher research costs may in some cases require you to put up with a higher expense ratio for your international investments, it is still the major factor to consider when picking a fund.

Be sure to read Morningstar's report if you own or are considering buying international mutual funds.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (NASDAQ: IIJI) is the top global speculation from John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report. He notes, "Japanese small caps have been clobbered in 2006 -- down about 50% year-to-date.

"The group got hammered by the Livedoor scandal earlier in the year and never got back on its feet. And with blue chips such as Canon and Toyota delivering double-digit gains, there wasn't much need to bother with smaller companies anyhow.

"This should change in the year ahead. International markets have done extremely well across the board and investors are looking for pockets of opportunity.

"In particular, hedge funds have been sifting through the rubble in Japanese small caps. These companies tend to be more profitable, more entrepreneurial -- and much cheaper -- than their large-cap peers.

"IIJI's net income doubled in its most recent quarter on strong demand for its IT outsourcing services. As Japan Inc. continues to restructure, IIJI's expertise will continue to be in demand. At a recent $9, IIJI sells for less than 20 times earnings.

"The company recently moved to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which will boost its visibility with investors. There's still a lot of risk -- IJII has been an extremely volatile stock. But as long as IIJI continues to deliver strong profit growth, there will be plenty of upside."

To see John's favorite conservative international idea for 2007, click here.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (NYSE: EMF), a closed-end fund, is the top speculative idea from Daniel Frishberg, BizRadio host and editor of TheMoneyMan.com.

He says, "Right now, shoppers are buying, foreigners are spending, Asia and Latin America are growing, the world is awash in money, interest rates are low and jobs are plentiful -- so any sell-off early in 2007 could mark a real opportunity to join a stock market that's about to blast off.

"Templeton Emerging Market covers the Pacific and Asia, excluding Japan. Stocks of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey are the main holdings. In each of the last couple of years, it has issued a very large dividend, and many advisors have suggested getting in, in advance, to capture the dividend.

"In reality, the stock declined by the exact amount of the dividend, as should have been expected, and while EMF is recovering nicely, we see it as even more attractive post-dividend. You get the gain without the immediate tax.