iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (ETF) (AMEX:EWA)

Australia is on a growth tear.

Australia has a bright future and is considerably outpaced by the S&P as of late I think the S&P will correct and push my caps up.

Oversold and positive news for China should help price here

Straight-up play on natural resources. Also, I freaking LOVE the accent!

Quote from a friend who lived in Australia for five years: "It's like Arkansas with a beach..."

The housing crash is coming to Australia

Australian Housing Bubble!

China is cooling and that will impact Australia more than most people realize.

Long term growth of region will raise prices. Even if China has to buckle down and keep their growth in check.

I like EWA in a strange way. I think they may hike the rates, but even if they don't I believe it's very possible with Euro trash, US QE ad infintum+greece exposure+debt ceiling,swiss franc having it's fun and Japan dealing with Fukushima, there aren't many "flights to safety". I believe it will be in the Australian dollar. Despite rate hikes, capital inflows results in improved balance sheets on banks, and banks can start feeling more comfortable lending with less down, which should result in a speculative boom in real estate, as a result confidence increases and auzzies start spending, businesses do well, and stocks rise...
It may sound ridiculous especially if Australia is just starting to potentially hike rates, but research what happened in the US when Paul Volker hiked rates like crazy, and you'll see why I'm "bullish as an effin kangaroo, mate"

This is a general play the increase in raw materials usage by China , India and the infrastructure rebuild that Japan will have to do over the next few years. lots of upside!

Possibly overstretched country ETFs

ewa, australia
ewc, canada
ewy, south korea
eww, mexico
ewz, brazil
eza, south africa

Commodity inflation, China, abundant resources, and perfect location to export to Asia.

It seems to me that Australia is tragically forced to undergo a forced infrastructure re-investment due to massive flooding, and as a result is a natural experiment in Keynesian, government-led re-inflation through infrastructure spending. Crisis-led rebuilding will inject massive stimulus into this economy, allowing Aussies to leap-frog to cutting edge infrastructure with positive consequences for productivity and new opportunity, and boosting "green/climate change" innovations firms, all before the rest of the world conclusively settles the question of climate-change-fact-or-fiction.

If this was a slowly evolving problem, I would expect a deleterious "new normal" in wealth destruction (what I see going on the USA), but I suspect that the reaction to climb back up will be a forceful return to the standard of living before the flooding. I also suspect the private sector will boom with private spending, based on savings in a wealthy nation, charity and utilization of credit, on remediation, mitigation and prevention. (Using credit seems to be something only China is doing well, while corporations and banks elsewhere sit on huge piles of capital, waiting for something to break)

The policy guys might press for spending on mitigation, with big consequences for new economic activity, a bit like Y2K fears boosted "high tech" computer spending...

All reasons why I want to watch this issue...

A "commodity play" my rear-end, this ETF is 41% weighted into Aussie banks and Australia is at the peak of one of the greatest housing bubbles in history.

Australia ETF per AvianFlu

Down under route to China, with BHP leverage forward.

Significant commodity exposure + strong currency should help
this fund over next 3-5years,

proximity to china, natural resources

Source of raw materials and benefits from China growth.