Of the world’s major stock markets, the only ones to have recorded gains of more than 8 percent this year are Brazil, China and Russia, while the benchmark index in India is little changed. According to the report of 12 February, this is a sign that these countries, the so-called BRICs, are showing resilience unimaginable in the United States, most of Europe and Japan these days.

According to the article, while evidence varies among the largest developed nations, there are indications that consumers there have not gone into hibernation just yet. Prospects that demand will hold up for metals have lifted shares of Brazil’s Vale do Rio Doce by 27 percent this year.

"I would expect the big emerging markets to do really well in the updraft of the next bull market, which you ought to be postured for right now," said Ken Fisher, the billionaire chairman of Fisher Investments in Woodside, California, which owns Brazilian and Russian shares.

The report also highlights the fast bounce back of Brazil’s stock exchange. The Bovespa index lost 41 percent in 2008, sending price/earnings ratios as low as 7 in October before a rebound in the metal producers of the country pushed the ratio back up to 9.6 last week.

"Infrastructure spending requires things like iron ore and concrete and all kinds of industrial materials," said Uri Landesman, the head of global growth and international equities at the ING asset management unit in New York. Brazil is very strong in metals and "they're going to be a huge beneficiary."