Going long with Emerging Markets (EEM, EEB)

Need a reason to buy the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (NYSE:EEM) which has moved up 64% in 2009 or the Claymore/BNY Mellon BRIC ETF (NYSE:EEB)?  How about UBS head of Global Equity Strategy Jeffrey Palma who says "emerging markets are really the only place to be."

Palma predicts earnings growth in emerging economies will exceed that of developed nations by 10% in 2010.  The story via Bloomberg.com today titled 'Emerging Markets ‘Only Place to Be,’ UBS’s Palma Says (Update3)' is worth noting.

Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market companies are the best stock investments for next year because earnings growth may exceed the expansion in developed nations by 10 percent, said Jeffrey Palma, the head of global equity strategy for UBS AG.

Technology, consumer staples and energy are the most attractive industries globally, Palma said. U.S. stocks will also gain as demand from faster-growing nations and a weaker dollar boost sales of consumer necessities, he said.

“Emerging markets are really the only place to be,” Palma, based in Stamford, Connecticut, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “The developed markets are really going to lag from a growth and an earnings standpoint.”

Gross domestic product in Brazil and China will increase by at least 4.75 percent in 2010, according to the median economist estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. That’s almost double the 2.6 percent expansion projected for the U.S. and quadruple the 1.1 percent growth predicted for the euro zone.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of 22 developing nations has climbed 73 percent this year, heading for its best annual performance, as signs that the first simultaneous recession in the U.S., Europe and Japan since World War II is ending bolstered the outlook for exports. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 25 percent after governments around the world enacted stimulus measures and the U.S. lent, spent or guaranteed more than $11 trillion to fuel a recovery.

SOURCE: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aXwRUJZWnRr0