I've just returned from the World Money Show in Orlando where more than 10,000 investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the U.S. and foreign financial experts featured at the show, and over the next week I will share some of their top investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.
"In 2006, investing in BRIC countries -- Brazil, India, China -- was the rage," notes Carl Delfeld, a expert on exchange-traded funds. In his Chartwell Advisors he focuses on Brazil.
"While China and India received most of the attention last year, the iShares Brazil ETF (NYSE:EWZ) was up 45.4% -- not bad, not bad at all. But the lingering question is whether Brazil's economic recovery is sustainable or just another stage in the economic cycle.
"What is most interesting to me is that Brazil's stock market's performance during the past four years is not due to superior economic growth. It has had an annual average growth rate of only 2.6%, about half of world economic growth during the same period. My view is that Brazil has been primarily a balance sheet story supported somewhat by the commodity boom.
"Inflation is muted and was only 3% during 2006. Brazil is almost energy independent, and foreign exchange reserves are now almost $100 billion after paying off its nettlesome IMF debt. In 2006, it recorded a trade surplus of $46 billion, and while interest rates are high, they are beginning to fall.



