AP Photo Specialist Jennifer Klesaris studies her screens at her post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK — There is nowhere to hide from inflation. Prices in one in four countries, many of them in emerging markets, are accelerating at a double-digit pace, which puts them at least two and a half times the 4 percent annual U.S. headline inflation rate, according to new research from Morgan Stanley. That should be a wake up call for anyone counting on investments abroad to prop up their portfolios as U.S. stocks teeter on the edge of a bear market. Sure, the “decoupling” strategy worked for investors in the recent past. Foreign holdings fared better because international economies were outperforming U.S. growth. The U.S. economy has slowed to nearly a standstill in the last year because of the mounting inflation and the collapse in the housing and mortgage markets. Other industrialized countries have seen about a 2 percent average rate of growth while emerging economies have topped 7 percent. That growth is now being threatened by inflation. And remember: In the developing world, a larger portion of household expenditures tends to go to the most inflationary items — food and fuel. Food prices have jumped 39 percent from February 2007 to 2008, led by wheat, soybeans, corn and edible oils, according to the International Monetary Fund. That hits residents of emerging markets much harder than those living in more advanced economies.