Where to find the next market meltdown? Perhaps half a world away. Some fund managers believe that emerging market stocks, which have provided great returns (39.5% annually since 2002), are perilously overvalued. No question, countries like China, India, Brazil and Russia are growing much faster than the developed world and are likely to do so for a while--with GDP growth rates of 5% to 11% a year, compared with 3% for the U.S. But there are worrisome signs that the run-up is fueled, in part, by just the sort of speculative money that typically presages a collapse. Foreign direct investment is still cascading into these countries: $213 billion this year, the Institute of International Finance estimates. Total assets under management for emerging markets hedge funds jumped eightfold in the four years through September to $269.5 billion, estimates Lipper Tass Asset Flows Report. Even that lowballs the true amount by $50 billion or so, reckons Lipper senior analyst Ferenc Sanderson, given that global and other hedge funds are also dumping money into these regions. Mutual fund firms, never ones to pass up an investing frenzy, have been diving in as well. Five years ago there was but one fund newly set up to target the sector; this year there are 16, says Morningstar. Individuals doubled their mutual fund bets in emerging markets last year to $11 billion, says AMG Data Services; as of Nov. 20 they totaled $14.2 billion for 2007.   more »