Here is a great write-up sent out by John Mauldin in his weekly newsletter. Mauldin was ranked as the second best investment adviser (only Warren Buffet was higher). He forwards an article written by Stratfor, the world's private intelligence company. Stratfor is an adviser to most multinational corporations around the world regarding security and terrorism.
As investors, having timely and accurate data about dangerous places and nationalistic policies of governments around the world can prevent potentially catastrophic losses. Often, we think of an investment in terms of preventing small losses. However, I have learned by sad experience that in some countries, one can lose the entire investment, sometimes literally overnight, if that country doesn't respect private property. One of those places is Russia. Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, the joint KGB Kings of the Kremlin, have transformed Russia over the the past 8 years from a fledgling democracy into a oligarchical fascist dictatorship where there is no free press, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, private property rights, or due process protections.
As an investor that invests internationally, I recommend this newsletter highly. It is written by an expert on the Russian Federation and has great insights into what is really going on and how it will change the world.
The Real World Order