As markets become more globalized and economies become more entwined, it's impossible to ignore the importance of investing in international stocks. Mutual funds, index funds, and exchange-traded funds have all combined to make your international choices simpler, quicker, and in many cases, more efficient.

But for many of you, investing in a passive index fund just isn't enough. You're interested in country-specific stocks. You want to invest in companies on the ground -- not in a basket of companies in a mutual fund. Maybe you want direct exposure to Chinese agriculture, Spanish communications, or German banking. You'll find it here.

In a country-by-country rundown, we're traveling the globe to find out which foreign stocks are traded on major U.S. indices. Hopefully, our whirlwind tour will get your engine going.

Today, we'll look at several companies headquartered in Brazil.

Company

Industry

Market Cap

Recent Price

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD)

Regional bank

$67.47 billion

$22.20

Brasil Telecom (NYSE:BTM)

Telecommunications

$5.59 billion

$30.83

BRF -- Brasil Foods (NYSE:BRFS)

Consumer goods -- meat products

$10.49 billion

$48.39

Cosan

Consumer goods --confectioners

$3.15 billion

$7.83

EMBRAER (NYSE:ERJ)

Aerospace/Defense

$3.96 billion

$22.16

Net Servicos de Comunicacao (NASDAQ:NETC)

Telecommunications

$4.86 billion

$14.11

Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Oil and gas

$212.20 billion

$48.30

Vale (NYSE:VALE)

Metals and mining

$151.33 billion

$29.20

Excludes stocks with a market cap below $100 million.

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