BRIC countries

Goldman's Jim O'Neill shot to fame by predicting the staggering rise of emerging-market economies like the BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China. But 2011, he says, "will be the beginning of a new phase in which the U.S. has strong GDP growth."

The U.S. stock markets had a dismal decade while many emerging economies delivered blockbuster growth. That's prompting investors in the developed world to grapple with how to take advantage of the explosive growth abroad -- without getting burned.

While there's no place like home, sometimes you have to get out of your own backyard -- and that includes investing. Impressive growth in emerging economies such as China and India will boost investments that provide exposure to these markets, says the new Emerging Wealth report from consultancy...

There are two schools of thought on oil prices. The first is that the recession will not last long and that exploration by major oil companies has slowed as oil fields begin to yield less. In this case, oil prices will move back toward $100 over the next year. Another contributing factor to rising...