Just a quick note that a holding I almost never mention, a Swedish closed-end investment fund called Vostok Nafta that was designed to invest in Russian companies, has been sold. It was not a particularly successful investment, I bought it before the collapse of the Russian market and hedged it with put options on the […]

Agriculture is yet again a big story in the markets — we’re told not only that food inflation is a big part of the unrest that toppled Tunisia’s government, may be part of what’s bringing down Mubarak in Egypt, and is certainly a major part of the inflation that’s hitting China and other emerging markets, […]

Just a quick note on some things I’ve done with my portfolio recently: I continue to hold Vostok Nafta shares, though that has been an awful investment thus far, but I do hold some puts on the Russia index (as represented by the RSX). In effect, this is a bet that Vostok Nafta has a […]

I’ve been skeptical of investing in Russia for quite some time, though I also do personally have some money invested in that country through a closed end fund (Vostok Nafta, trades in Sweden). It has not been an easy few weeks for those who are invested in the Great Bear. Why? It’s still largely political, […]

About a week ago Vostok Nafta released its estimate of Net Asset Value (NAV), the value of the investments held by the fund.  They release this data every month, but only once a month, and they release the NAV at the close of the prior month on about the tenth — so on June 10th, […]

I added to my Vostok Nafta holdings today, bringing my overall cost basis to $22.50 in these shares. This is a Swedish closed end fund, essentially, that invests in Russia — trades in Stockholm at VNIL and on the pink sheets at VNHIF. I remain somewhat cautious about Russia, but some of the investment prospects […]