Those who hear the phrase “emerging markets” these days tend to think first of two fast-growing countries in Asia: India and China. All too frequently, however, another country growing just as fast on the other side of the planet is forgotten: Brazil. Over the last few years, Latin America’s biggest country in area has transformed itself into a global player and a favorite of investors. With a gross domestic product of approximately one trillion euros, Brazil now has the world’s tenth-largest economy. The country is profiting not only from the raw materials boom of the last several years but also through its opening up to the world market. Under the leadership of President Lula da Silva, Brazil now has a comfortable foreign trade surplus, despite the fact that the value of the real against the dollar has doubled since the president took office in 2002. Such currency appreciation is normally a nightmare for exports – but apparently not for the economic wunderkind Brazil.