A: Too Many Former KGB/ Mafia Business Connections

Q: Why am I Still Staying Away from Investing in Russia?

I’ve written here a couple of times that Russia, now with the 4th largest reserves of any central bank in the world, is not to be ignored. However, I’ve also stated that until they clean up their political corruption issues, I’m staying away. First, Andrei Kozlov, one of their central bankers that was leading a fight against money laundering was murdered in an apparent contract killing, then journalist Anna Politkovksaya, one of the most outspoken critics of Russian President Putin, was murdered. And just this week, in another apparent contract killing, Alexander Plokhin, a manager of a state-owned Moscow bank, was gunned down. Everytime I think of entering the Russian markets, I receive another reminder to stay away.

Add comment October 11th, 2006

A: It Helps Me Write About Topics People Want to Read About

Q: Why Do I Ask for Comments?

To keep a pulse on investment topics that people would like to read, I glance at the analytics for my website quit often. I noticed that a reader in Namibia was reading my blog frequently and then disappeared. I noticed this week that new readers from Uruguay, Argentina, Turkey and Australia have joined. However, without feedback from you, the reader, I don’t know what information someone from the UAE is seeking versus someone in Brazil. So to that end, I would welcome comments and suggestions on any blog post via the comment boxes (and if you speak Spanish, you can post in Spanish as well as I can understand Spanish fairly well).

I recently started a discussion board on another site (not mine) about water stocks, and even though it’s been up for several days, only one person has posted a comment. But I guess that’s what contrarian investing and digging below the surface to find superior investment opportunities is all about. My topics are just not going to appeal to the wide masses liike a discussion about commonly-held stocks like IBM, Apple, or Sony would. But like I said, the Zen of Investing is not about discussing stories already analyzed to death in the mainstream media. I try to bring you stories that you won’t hear about in Reuters, the BBC, the Wall Street Journal or the London Times. So to that end, again, please feel free to post suggestions in the comment boxes! Thanks!

Add comment October 11th, 2006