For big bucks and big commissions, yes. If you could get the attention of your Morgan Stanley broker with a 7 digit account and plenty of trades, you probably could get access to things like "I'd like to make money when oil goes up" or "I think this trade deficit is gonna bite us all in the ass, so I want a hedge" ... this is much more common among "normal" investors today.
> You've long been able to play the geographic game too
> (London or Buenos Aires?).
I don't know about your experience, but as recently as 1995 when I asked my broker to let me trade stocks in London, he said "I need $500k and we charge $125 for the hassle plus a currency conversion charge that's not to your benefit ever" ... It's still the case that unless you want to trade something cross-listed (or available as an ADR, etc.) you're unlikely to be able to trade foreign stocks directly, if you're a 'normal investor' ...
But mutual funds (and especially with the rise of no-load, low-minimum ones) tied to brokerage accounts that allow self-directed investing gives you access that's very different than it was 10 years ago.
Similarly with commodities: unless you think there are 'pure plays' in oil or copper, you're sort of stuck with futures -- which isn't a normal instrument. On the other hand, the latest innovations in things like ETFs bring the convenience (and price!) of stock trading to a whole slew of things you couldn't invest in back then ... and of course, it also allows you to short them (easily, cheaply).
> It's really really hard to know which game
> to play; it's always been, and always will be.
Sure, but that doesn't mean that people have stopped making money! :)
/jordan