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The Financial Times reported Tuesday that the FTSE index group has created an index of eleven currencies and two commodities for use by investors to hedge against currency and inflation risk. The “Wealth Preservation Unit” includes the world’s seven largest currencies and those of Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as a 4.5 percent weighting in gold and oil.

2011 was not a good year for Brazilian residential construction and real estate company Gafisa (GFA, quote).  And although Itaú BBA considers the company to be on the right track now – it prefers more secure stocks in 2012.

Experian (EXPGY, quote)  is teaching its employees how to say “credit” in Portuguese. The Irish credit report company is been targeting the growing consumer class in the emerging markets, particularly in Brazil.  

The euro zone crisis has been the leading headline for more months than I care to count, but now that the second round of Greek bailouts is officially underway, the world can now return to business as usual, right? If it was only that simple.

Itaú BBA believes that Metalurgica Gerdau’s (GGB, quote) mining assets could be worth $3 billion — a full 18% of the steel company’s market capitalization.

Despite strong growth in the last four years, Brazil, Russia, India and China have not become less vulnerable to shocks in the global economy, according to a new study released by global risk research company Maplecroft.

Air China (AIRYY, quote) looks like it’s getting ready to reach new heights. The airline has a deal with Honeywell (HON, quote) to buy new and improved avionics, while its parent company is planning to nearly double the size of its fleet by 2015.

With China cutting its bank reserve requirements and lenders ready to rush into the markets with new money, we’re due for a sector rotation. Get ready to buy commodities, and keep a lookout for the ripple effects that come with demand for agriculture and metals.

Hot American social pin-board site Pinterest may still be in beta, but Chinese social network Renren (RENN, quote) has cloned it already(!) and added a retailer-friendly twist. Renren Guang Jie (“Go Shopping”) launched in January 2012, and seems likely to dominate the social sharing space in China.