Anyway, not to get into something bigger here, but the global economy will rise and fall on the back of China the next couple of decades.  The demographics are undeniable and overwhelming, I’m talking everything from food, to energy, to consumer goods and industrial goods.  It’s all there.  Europe is screwed for the foreseeable future as they have decided to go the route of austerity, whether they wanted to or not.  You can pretty much cross off your growth list any companies that do a large part of their business in Europe.  Save for a few pockets, like consumer electronics, clothing retailers, education, home improvement, semiconductors, and some industrial machinery, you can pretty much write off growth in the US as well.

Focus on companies doing business in China Brazil and India, the three centers of real growth.  I would even throw in Africa for the more risk inclined, but there really aren’t too many good pure plays there.  The Chinese know that the west is broke, and that the days of their economic ascension based upon us buying their goods is quickly waning.  They need to stoke domestic demand.  Brazil has been pretty successful at doing so, but they are a much different culture, the Chinese are frugal and love to save, the Brazilians, not so much.  Both countries need to ignite their domestic economies, and I believe they will both be successful.  Say what you want about their political leaders, their political systems, blah blah blah, the fact is that both have shown poise and great skill in managing their economies correctly.  You all know my line about the US, we are too big to succeed,  meaning that our political system has just grown too large with too many different agendas to point us in one direct, with one long term vision, with the ability to fix problems and make quick decisions.  Some day the Chinese will run into this problem as well, after they have given their people the political freedoms they will demand.  It will happen, it always happens, it is the natural course of globalization, first comes economic prosperity, then come the calls for political freedom to meet that prosperity.  I have no doubt this time will be any different.  They will choke on their own voices at some point as well, but not for the next 50 years, at least.

So what companies should you be focused on when looking for growth in China.  Think anything that catches the farmer up to the modern world.  They will eat more food, especially meat, they will travel more, buy more heavy goods like washers, dryers, and air conditioners, get a better education, build better houses, and put more money in the bank or invest it…

Think United States of America circa 1920.

Favorite consumer focused  names right now selling in China, Brazil, and India, but mostly China, taking into consideration fundamentals and relative strength:

CTRP, BIDU, CAAS, EDU, HMIN, BRFS, BAP, MELI, CPL, LFL, CBD, VIV, WHR, YUM, LVS, MCD, NKE, AAPL

Below you will find a list of the international names that I believe are investable going into 2010.  There are plenty of tradeable stocks throughout the year, stocks that I couldn’t care less about the fundamentals.  But if you’re an investor looking for solid companies that show earnings growth, here is your list.  All of these companies also exhibit technical relative strength, that’s my style, I don’t do value.

Energy: Petroleo Brasileiro $PBR (Brazil), A-Power Energy $APWR (China), Trina Solar $TSL (China),

Materials: Gerdau S.A. $GGB (Brazil), China Green Agriculture $CGA (China), Yanzhou Coal Mining $YZC (China), Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA $BVN (Peru), AngloGold Ashanti $AU (South Africa), Gold Fields $GFI (South Africa),

Technology: VanceInfo Technologies $VIT (China), Ctrip.com $CRP (China), Baidu $BIDU (China), Sina Corp. $SINA (China), AsiaInfo Holdings $ASIA (China), Longtop Financial Technologies $LFT (China), Wipro $WIT (India), Infosys Technologies $INFY (India), Check Point Software Technologies $CHKP (Israel), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing $TSM (Taiwan),

Consumer: Ambev $ABV (Brazil), Cosan $CZZ (Brazil), China Automotive Systems $CAAS (China), New Oriental Education $EDU (China), Tata Motors $TTM (India),

Industrials: Gafisa S.A. $GFA (Brazil), RINO International Corporation $RINO (China), SmartHeat $HEAT (China),

Telecom: Vivo Participacoes S.A. $VIV (Brazil), PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia $TLK (Indonesia), Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri $TKC (Turkey), Millicom International $MICC (Africa)

Financial: Itaú Unibanco $ITUB (Brazil), Banco Santander-Chile $SAN (Chile), Cninsure Inc. $CISG (China), ICICI Bank $IBN (India),

Services: GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. $GOL (Brazil), Home Inns & Hotels Management $HMIN (China), Grupo Aeroportuario $PAC (Mexico),

Utilities: Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais $CIG (Brazil), Companhia Paranaense de Energia $ELP (Brazil), CPFL Energia S.A. $CPL (Brazil), Enersis S.A. $ENI (Chile)

Healthcare: Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories $RDY (India), Teva Pharmaceuticals $TEVA (Israel),

I can’t recommend any individual companies in Russia, there is just too much political risk in owning any individual name.  You can own the index $RSX for sure, but Russia is the wild wild west of capitalism, if you can even call it that, it’s more like a thuggary system.

Some highlights in the list above.  Trina Solar $TSL looks to be the winner in Chinese solar stocks.  The solar industry is in its infancy and picking winners from losers now is a monumental task.  You must rely on the technicals to guide you, and right now they say $TSL is the winner.  I don’t love investing in foreign oil companies, there are enough in the developed world to pick from, my favorite being $BP.  Petroleo Brasileiro $PBR, better known as Petrobas, is the one emerging markets energy company I would be invested in.  Look overseas for materials plays, Gerdau $GGB is an excellent Brazilian company and will lead Brazil into the new decade.  The South African gold miners are great plays as well, I highly recommend having a generous exposure to the gold miners.  Although I believe far better technology plays are found right here in the US, there are a few out there worth investing in.  $CTRP is killing it, Chinese people are traveling all over the world and using the service.  Not only are the Chinese traveling, but they are learning English at a break neck pace.  New Oriental Education $EDU is the leader in this space.  Indians are buying cars, it’s that simple, ride that train with Tata Motors $TTM.  RINO International $RINO treats waste water in China, water treatment is going to be a huge theme the world over for the next decade.  As the Chinese become more wealthy they will demand better services from their government.  Clean drinking water and no sewage in the streets is step one.  I love the African telecom play Millicom International $MICC.  Africa has no infrastructure, so instead of building telephone lines everything will be cellular.  In my mind, this company may be the most important to the growth and development of Africa.  The Brazilian banks are excellent and avoided the mess that the United States caused in the financial sector.  Instead of wasting your money owning a dead company like Citibank $C, buy a few emerging market banks.  People are flying into little airports in Mexico on vacation, Grupo Aeroportuario $PAC owns them, enough said.  Why would you even invest in a domestic utility when there is little growth and a lot of regulation here in the US.  Take your pick from these emerging market utilities, a few have excellent dividends to boot.  I don’t love emerging market healthcare, but if you must, $TEVA is a safe play.