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      Like so many things, Americans take water for granted in a way the rest of the world doesn't. This despite the fact that our agricultural base requires a constant shuttling of water through the better part of California and New York City using rapidly deteriorating, decades-old infrastructure. Surely there has to be a way to profit from water other than bottling it and selling it for $5.

      "It's the great untold story," says Joe Quinlan, chief investment strategist at U.S. Trust. He believes water is priced incorrectly (read: free to Americans), leading to a lack of both investment dollars and incentives for the subsidies doled out so freely to industries of lesser importance.

      Regardless of how we feel about it in the U.S., "in China and India they are building out the water infrastructure." Without these improvements these countries simply can't continue to grow. It may seem like an easy problem to solve given that 70% of the earth is submerged, but Quinlan says that's not the case. According to him only 1% of the world's water supply is potable with 2% of the rest frozen, and the remainder in the seas.

      Are you convinced that creating a greater supply of drinkable water is a growth industry yet? Good, because Quinlan has two ETFs to consider.

      Read More »from How to Invest in Water: “The Great Untold Story”
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      Whether it's the squeaky wheel, the black sheep or the problem child, reality is that "bad" gets all the attention while "good" gets largely ignored. As unfair as this is, it can also make for opportunity, especially if you're in the market for a good deal.

      A long, long time ago when news about "European spreads" was still about cheese, there was this growing investment thesis known as the BRIC countries --Brazil, Russia, India, China-- and everybody wanted a piece of them. But lately, it seems BRIC-speak is about as popular as a Communist conference in the Cold War.

      Take the situation in Brazil. Despite gaining huge international attention by winning both hosting bids for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the investment thesis has dropped off the radar. This is mostly due to the impact Europe is having on emerging market stock psyche. But is Brazil getting slammed for no good reason?

      "There's very little risk of recession in Brazil itself," says Jason Press, Latin America strategist at Citigroup. "We see 3 to 3.5% GDP growth next year, but a lot of that's driven by the Brazilian consumer."

      Press has five solid stock ideas for investors that are bullish on Brazil.

      Read More »from Bullish on Brazil? 5 Stocks to Invest in Now
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      Centuries of natural selection have hardwired human beings to find patterns and imagine relationships. This wiring is the basis of such things as lucky charms, special pre-game meals, ominous black cats and the idea that rising global temperatures are caused by, rather than correlated with, industrialization.

      Given our superstitious nature, it could be tempting to dismiss the work of the Stock Trader's Almanac. Now in its 45th year, the Almanac culls market data from over a half-century to uncover seasonal trends and behaviors, outlining patterns that can improve a trader's odds of success. Scoff though you may, the Almanac is a mainstay of trading desks around the world and has uncovered such now conventional wisdom as Sell in May, the Santa Claus Rally, the January effect, and more.

      The money question for 2011 is whether this year's horrific news flow will trump the trends, obviating any historical seasonal influences. Despite a U.S. credit rating downgrade in August, or the European crisis that reemerged as a headline story in September, Jeff Hirsch, who replaced his father Yale as the editor of the almanac says "no." He points to stocks suffering through a terrible September and bottoming in October, two events the Almanac accurately foretold. "Historical trends have held true," says Hirsch.

      If seasonal patterns stay in place, November marks the beginning of stocks' strongest three-month period. With last month having been the 4th best October on record, history suggests even stronger gains than the norm. Of the 20 strongest Octobers since 1950, the period from November 1st to January 31st has been positive 17 times, with average gains over 6%.

      Read More »from Time to Buy? Let History Be Your Guide
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      Fears that the financial malaise engulfing Europe right now will spread beyond the region appear to be well-founded. In fact, Citigroup Latin America strategist Jason Press says it's no longer a question whether it'll happen because the EU crisis is already taking a toll on emerging markets.

      "All markets are watching Europe," Press tells me in the attached video, adding that so-called "Euro contagion" has infected Latin American stock markets faster than it pollutes their economies. However, the flipside of that (e.g. the risk-on trade) is also true, which was clearly evident in October when the region posted some of its largest gains in over 15 years.

      "You get this perception that Brazil and other markets within Latin America will suffer as high risk assets," Press says. "We are actually a bit cautious on emerging markets for the very short-term, but we do expect that fundamentals should once again trump the sentiment argument, so we are buyers of emerging markets globally."

      One key reason for Press's contagion composure is that GDP and earnings downgrades are already largely priced into the LatAm region.

      Read More »from Are Emerging Markets Getting Hit By Euro Contagion?

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