Barron's Recap: Betting On Emerging Markets

This weekend in Barron's online: a panel discussion on emerging markets, the outlook for Brazil, a contrarian play on commodities, as well as the prospects for Sotheby's, Alibaba, State Bank Financial, Wabco and more.

Cover Story

"The New World of Emerging Markets" by Reshma Kapadia. In this week's cover story at Barron's, a panel of four top investors discusses the many opportunities they see in developing markets, and why they particularly favor Asia now. Among other things, the four panelist discuss how China is influencing other emerging markets, how Asia is bucking conventional wisdom, how consumption is changing in emerging markets, how vulnerable these markets are to rising interest rates in the United States and reasons to be skeptical of frontier markets. See also: The Global Impact Of Decentralized Banking

Feature Stories

"Brazil's Irrational Un-Exuberance" by Lewis Braham suggests that while the stock market of this South American powerhouse has been in turmoil due to the recent election, the outlook for Brazil is much better than investors might expect. Avi Salzman's "Collectible: Sotheby's Shares" points out that art auctioneer Sothebys BID has been creating new ways to wring cash from its operations. The article suggests that shares could be bid up as much as 25 percent. In "Commodities: Buy When the World Is Selling," Andrew Bary makes the case that investors ought to consider making a place for commodities for their portfolios, even though (and in part because) they have gone out of favor recently. Two hot U.S. IPOs will battle for the online retail crown in China, says "Why Alibaba Will Knock Down JD.com" by Bill Alpert. See why Barron's thinks Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA could cut its smaller challenger's share price by 20 percent. Check out "A Bank Veteran's Third Act" for David Englander's examination of Atlanta's State Bank Financial Corp STBZ. The article attributes the bank's strong upside to veteran CEO Joseph Evans and the attractive low-cost loan base he has built. In Jack Hough's "As Wabco Steps on the Gas, Shares Could Rise 60%," see why demand for truck brakes will rise as regulators in China require more safety features and aging fleets in the United States and Europe are replaced. That is good news for WABCO Holdings Inc. WBC. The pros tell Barron's that stocks could keep moving up, according to Lauren R. Rublin's "The Smart Money Speaks: 14 Picks," as interest rates could remain low longer than expected. See their 14 stock recommendations. "Diamond Hill Small Cap Finds the Diamond in the Rough" by Amy Feldman offers a profile of Tom Schindler, who is manager of the aforementioned fund. See why Schindler believes small companies are carrying some big price tags these days, and where he is finding value. Reshma Kapadia's "The Deal Maker at Wyndham's Front Desk" turns the CEO spotlight on Stephen Holmes of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation WYN. See how he has built the top brand-hotel franchiser via acquisitions and shrewd restructuring. "Oh Please, Not Another Czar" is an editorial commentary by Thomas G. Donlan in which he discusses how the Ebola crisis in West Africa has created a government crisis in the United States. See also: This Startup Wants To Replace Microsoft, IBM

Columns

Columns in this weekend's Barron's discuss:

• Japan's new stimulus plan and surging U.S. stocks
• Good economic news that may spur consumer spending
• Facebook's spending growth -- but spending on what?
• How much cash mutual funds should hold
• Barron's Q3 GDP prediction: a hit and a miss
• GOP looking to simplify earmark and pork barrel rules
• The many ways to invest in agriculture ETFs
• The tasty dividend hike and share buybacks at DineEquity
• The case against American football
• Websites for active and passive investors

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.