The movement founded by people pejoratively labeled as tree-huggers, enviro-Nazis and hippies has now been joined by governments, multinational corporations and the armed services. Here’s a rundown of recent news stories that demonstrate how Cleantech is moving forward, both as a concept and burgeoning industry.

Korean National Oil Company’s decision to buy Harvest Energy Trust is curious on many levels. But the difficulty resource-hungry SWFs and SOEs face is that most of the plum assets--productive and located in safe jurisdictions--are already under the control of global resource heavyweights.

If markets have no major hiccups for the rest of October and into early November, expect them to move higher through the first few months of 2010, with November, December and January being the “money months.”

For the US-based investor, buying Canada right now means accessing a relatively stable, low-beta play on a global economic recovery. It means benefitting from fundamental factors that support a strong and rising Canadian dollar. It means owning solid businesses that pay sustainable distributions.

At current levels, energy, telecommunications, financial, industrial, and material companies appear to be the cheapest in Asia.

The end of easy oil remains arguably the most powerful driver in the sector, though the unprecedented drop-off in demand that occurred in the wake of the credit crisis and resultant economic dislocation has obscured this long-term trend. But with the global economy and credit markets now on the mend, this theme should come back with a vengeance over the next few quarters.

Chinese policymakers are focused on managing the current boom and, more important, the credit cycle. For this reason, investors should look outside China for the big outperformance--assuming the global economy doesn’t relapse.

August may bring a bit of a pause to Asian markets. But Asia is still the place to be: Not only has the region's growth surprised on the upside, but increasing domestic demand suggests that its economies are better equipped to generate future growth.

The Canadian dollar's recent performance is an indication of two critical economic developments. Its rise coincides with increases in investor confidence and risk appetite. Also, however, and somewhat paradoxically, it's being used as a hedge against inflation in the US--in other words, a type of safe haven.

China and India remain hedge-fund favorites and are a hit with institutional investors that take a long view. I continue to believe that the next investment bubble will form in these markets.