One advantage older investors have is that we have been there, done that, and seen about everything — usually several times. It came as no surprise to me whatever — other than the timing — to hear that Brazil has decided to forbid foreign ownership of land and may confiscate all property purchased back as far as 1988.

Stefan Zweig pegged it right after all. In the late 1930s, the Austrian playwright and writer sought relief from war-torn Europe and settled in Brazil. He loved it. In 1941, he moved there and wrote his book Brazil: Land of the Future. Brazil, he thought, “was destined to become one of the most important factors in the development of our world.”

I always want to see the other side of the trade, even if I disagree so today I will post a story via CNNMoney that paints the potential downside in Brazil.   I think I read a similar story in Barron's about 2 years ago - obviously that one was off the mark but again, there is always someone on the other side of every trade so it pays to understand why and stress test your own thesis.

Quite a comprehensive piece on Bloomberg, tying together some themes we've touched on in various stories over the years.  We tend to get caught on in the day to day micro, but it truly is amazing when you step back and think about how so much has changed in the macro in under 2 decades.

One of the more popular forms of active investing is macro economy based on the different economic news around the world. The three major investment arenas are commodities, currencies and international stock/bonds. I personally have always been interested in the third one through my traveling.