When we in Australia talk about Emerging Markets it is common place to first think about China and maybe India or even Indonesia as countries that are in the Emerging Markets designation.  A nation that is often over-looked yet becoming a stronger force in world markets is Brazil.

Today I have read a special report completed by the Economist magazine.  For those interested in learning a little more about Brazil and its economy this article is well worth a read - Getting it together at last.

The following extract paints the scene:

"Despite the financial crisis that has shaken the world, a lot of good things seem to be happening in Brazil right now. It is already self-sufficient in oil, and large new offshore discoveries in 2007 are likely to make it a big oil exporter by the end of the next decade. All three main rating agencies classify Brazil's government paper as investment grade. The government has announced that it will lend money to the IMF, an institution that only a decade ago attached stringent conditions to the money it was lending to Brazil. As the whole world seemed to be heading into a long winter last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Brazil was 30% up on the year before?even as FDI inflows into the rest of the world fell by 14%."

Regards,
Scott Keefer