Mickey Mouse teaching English to Chinese children

Companies looking for money in our arid economy might look to the world's growing need for multilingualism. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Rosetta Stone (RST), the language training company, and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) are showing that people are still willing to fork over their dinero to hablan Inglés.

Rosetta Stone opened the eyes of Wall Street with the success of its IPO, which debuted last Thursday. The stock quickly climbed to 42 percent above its initial price, from $18 to a high of $29.39. Analysts point to the company's lack of competition, relative immunity from the recession blues and absence of debt as reasons for its success. Aggressive marketing has helped it carve out a dominant place in teaching people to sprechen Englisch.