Investing in the Americas: Natural Resource Prices Will Be Key to 2011 Profits

Whether you win or lose on your Americas-related investments in 2011 will come down to a single factor - natural-resource prices. If the prices of oil, gold, copper and other natural resources are high, the hideous flaws in the economies of a number of the countries north and south of the U.S. border will remain hidden behind, as if by magic. But if resource prices plummet, then even some of the best-run countries in North and South America will probably stumble a bit - and several will be revealed as true economic basket cases. When we refer to "the Americas," we're talking about all the countries in North, Central and South America - with the United States excluded. There's a great divergence in potential. So let's begin our journey with Latin America.