Brazil is no longer just a tourist hot spot, but a solid profit play for savvy investors, too. And one of the best ways to profit from Brazil’s expected 4.8% growth in gross domestic product this year is to invest in one of the Latin American nation’s infrastructure-focused firms.

Welcome to the latest offshoot of the subprime-mortgage debacle: A burgeoning U.S. pension-fund crisis. Since the global financial crisis struck last fall, the largest 1,500 U.S. public companies have lost a combined $280 billion from their pension funds.

Steelmakers throughout Asia cringed earlier this week when they heard the news that Aussie mining giant Rio Tinto PLC (ADR: RTP) had secured a 97% price increase for its iron-ore. But getting Rio out of the way was only half the battle, because now steelmakers are forced to confront BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADR: BHP) and its chief executive, Marius Kloppers, who may not be so easily placated.

The extent of Australia's commodities boom was underlined yesterday by an Australian government report predicting export earnings from commodities would rise a whopping 40% $201bn in the financial year to June 2009, led by a 48% surge in mineral exports to A$178bn — the biggest rise in four decades.

Commodities across the board have been increasing in price as supply struggles to keep up with growing global demand. We may be shoveling out more and more money to pay for life’s essentials, but there’s no reason investors that shouldn’t have the opportunity to profit from and hedge these price spikes, too.

Some ugly facts about Australia's overvalued, emerging, "sexy", fast growing iron ore producers. As Christopher Brown says: "Most people want to own sexy, fast-growing stocks. But as Buffett says, you pay a dear price for a cheery consensus."

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Interview With Gifford Combs