Published: November 9, 2009

With news of unemployment reaching 10.2% -- the highest it’s been in 26 years -- prospects for many U.S. investments look bleak.

But you’re not out of luck just yet...

Many countries around the world will be able to steer around this extended recession. Some are even in prime position to explode.

And it’s not as difficult to invest abroad as it may seem. Today, it’s as effortless as buying an American Depositary Receipt -- same thing as a stock -- through your online broker. Figuring out which ones to buy is the hard part.

In Lifetime Income Report, we’ve ramped up our portfolio to reflect our favorites: Asia, Africa and Latin America. Today I’m letting readers in on two south-of-the-border plays you can play immediately...

Escape the Second Downturn on Lula’s Coattails
Our favorite international plays come from Brazil. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise. We’ve been bullish on Brazil for over a year now.

The Brazilian economy has never looked better. For starters, the democratic government of President Luiz Lula da Silva is both popular and smart. Instead of leading the Brazilian people down the same road they always seem to end up on -- collapsing currency and enormous income disparity -- Lula re-cemented the federal and state budgets, brokered trade deals across the globe, and brought the country’s economy into top-ten status.

This success helped him win a landslide reelection in 2006. Even his political opponents can’t discount the success he’s had in making sure Brazil didn’t fall into the same recession that’s now captured the rest of the globe.

Sure, smaller export numbers and commodity prices have put a small hold on Brazil’s growth. But by this time next year, the country’s GDP should be back up to a 3.5-4% growth rate.

Lula has been able to do this by placing a little fiscal responsibility into a system that’s rarely had it. It’s been just 11 years since Brazil suffered from its last currency crash. Thankfully, the country adjusted its currency after that fiasco, completely taking the real off the U.S. dollar peg.

This is probably the most important reason Brazil is now starting to garner some recognition as a safe haven for growth investing.

The federal deficit and spending habits here in the U.S. can only hold for so long. Even China -- the country holding more U.S. Treasury Notes than any other -- recently remarked that it would like to drop the dollar as the world reserve currency.

Having a currency that’s not pegged to the dollar is a huge benefit in today’s inflationary world.

But besides a superior currency, Brazil investments come with many other perks that interest smart investors.

The Brazilian Advantage
Take tax rates for instance. It’s easy to find foreign plays that pay large dividends. It’s difficult to find ones that don’t have a cut taken off the top just because you’re a foreign investor.

Canada is the most common example. Until very recently, Canada had some of the best royalty plays in the world. The vast resources of our neighbor to the north translated into large income distributions for investors.

That all changed in 2006, when the Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty decided to take advantage of all the rich American investors coming across the border for those large yields. Now, if you are an American, you have to pay his government 15% on all Canadian income trust distributions you receive.

This is a new trend developing throughout the investing world. Fortunately, there are a few safe income havens left. Brazil, Great Britain, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Mexico are the five zero-tax-withholding countries that we are focused on.

Another perk Brazil has to offer is its rapid acceleration on the world stage. Lula’s popularity and successful reforms have helped put a spotlight on South America’s largest country.

Not only is Lula’s voice highly anticipated in any international gathering, his ability to highlight his country’s tourism-friendly assets helped Brazil lock in the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Of course, just having a great investment location isn’t enough. You need to have the perfect investment to take advantage of it. And we have two of them...

Grab Green Income with the World-Leading Hydro Generator
When most people think of renewable energy, they think of wind farms and solar plants. But one of the most widely used forms of renewable energy is hydroelectric. And no country knows more about hydropower than Brazil.

The Itaipu hydroelectric dam, located on the Panara River between Brazil and Paraguay, is currently the largest in both capacity and annual generation in the world. The site generates nearly 100 billion kilowatthours (Bkwh). That would be enough to power 11.2 million U.S. homes. That might be why the American Society of Civil Engineers picked it as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Brazil entered into an agreement with Paraguay in 1973 to build and share the electricity produced from Itaipu. Currently, Paraguay uses it to power more than three quarters of its electricity needs, selling the rest of its share to Brazil.

It was during that 1973 treaty signing that Brazil decided to go headlong into the hydropower business.

The South American leader now generates more than 372 Bkwh per year from hydroelectricity -- 85% of total generation.

Brazil is also expanding its capacity at a rapid rate. Over the next 20 years, only China will be generating more electricity from hydropower plants.

Lula’s government has spent plenty to back hydropower expansion. Most of the $221 billion earmarked for infrastructure, transport and energy in Brazil’s stimulus plan is slated for hydro capacity increases.

To take advantage of Lula’s hydropower initiatives, and reap the rewards of Brazil’s fast-growing economy, you should take a serious look at these two hydro giants:

• Companhia Paranaense de Energia (NYSE: ELP) is a major player in the Brazilian hydro market. The company owns 17 different hydro plants, most of which are located on the Panara River. The stock is in position for an easy double from here.



• Enersis (NYSE: ENI) owns and operates 53 power plants -- most of which are hydroelectricity plants -- that have an installed capacity of more than 14,000 MW. We could see units of ENI continue to climb over the next year. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to collect large dividend yields for as long as you hold it.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Penny Sleuth.