The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which industrials editor and analyst Brendan Byrnes and consumer goods editor and analyst Austin Smith discuss topics across the investing world.

In today's edition, Brendan and Austin take a look at aluminum giant Alcoa. The company is now the third-biggest gainer on the Dow for 2012, up over 20%. Brendan still thinks Alcoa has plenty of room to run, with its industry-leading Alumina position and its vertically integrated low-cost structure. If the economy continues to improve, we expect Alcoa to as well, making this a solid time to take a look at picking up this company for relatively cheap.

Alcoa is one of the Dow stocks that's most exposed to the global economy. With Europe in shambles, many investors may be nervous about investing in a company that's internationally focused, but they shouldn't be. Emerging markets are giving new life to established American companies with deep pockets. To uncover three other great American companies taking advantage of emerging markets, we invite you to read a copy of our free report: "3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World." The report won't be available forever, so we invite you to enjoy a free copy today!