Investing in Russia: What You Need to Know

Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Ford F plans to hire 1,500 new workers at its plant outside St. Petersburg, Russia to help meet Russian consumers' growing demand for cars.

This morning on CNBC, when asked which single Eastern European country to invest in, Vladimir Milev of the Metzler/Payden European Emerging Markets Fund MPYMX said Russia.

To learn more about investing in Russia, here is a series of recent angles from TheStreet.com.

From Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: From Russia With Love:

According to Cramer, the way to play the newly ignited Russian economy is with steelmaker Mechel MTL, one of the "one of the best international steel plays around."

He said the company is seeing strong demand not only from inside Russia, but also from China and the Middle East.

Cramer also likes Mechel for its vertical integration. The company currently produces 100% of its own coal, 92% of its own iron ore and 55% of its own nickel. As a result, Mechel is a leader in its industry because it is able to source all of its own raw materials.

Read the full article.

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From Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: A Soviet Food and Beverage Treat:

Cramer said the Russian economy's 6% annual GDP growth has created several outstanding stock opportunities, if investors know where to look.

WBD [Wimm-Bill-Dann WBD] fits that bill: The company currently commands a 34% market share of dairy products in Russia and is the No. 2 producer of baby foods and No. 3 producer of juice products in the country.

Cramer says it still has plenty of room to grow as most of Russia is still underpenetrated with the company's offerings.

Read the full article.

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From Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Russia's TV Bonanza:

Russian TV is where America was 40 years ago, he said, as the explosive growth of advertising is propelling the expansion of television programming and viewership.

The best way to play that market is CTC Media CTCM, the fourth largest television broadcaster in Russia, according to Cramer.

CTC Media, he says, owns 32 TV stations and is aggressively growing through acquisitions, taking advantage of cost savings along the way. The broadcasting company commands 11.8% of the national audience in Russia, and many of its stations enjoy strong ratings.

Cramer notes CTC Media's current valuation as another reason to own the company. CTC has a 30% long-term growth rate, but trades at just 18 times expected 2008 earnings.

Read the full article.

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Hank Greenberg on Russian Real Estate (Video)

In a special interview, Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg speaks candidly about investing in Putin's Russia and protectionism in the U.S.

Watch the video.

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From 'Fast Money' Portfolios of the Week:

The Russian oil market is booming. The country is producing 10 million barrels a day and exporting 70% of that crude and product. On Tuesday's [April 22] "Fast Money" show, Tim Seymour told viewers, "If you're looking for more trades, take a look at Lukoil [OTC ticker: LUKOY]."

Read the full article.

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New Prez Spells Profits for Russian Oil Stocks (Video)

Milev of the Metzler/Payden European Emerging Markets Fund says Russia's new president, the former chairman of energy giant Gazprom (OTC ticker: OGZPY), is good for domestic producers but tricky for foreign drillers.

Watch the video.

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From This ETF Is a 'BRIC' House:

The Claymore/BNY BRIC ETF EEB spreads its investments among the "BRIC" nations -- Brazil, Russia, India and China. In addition to geographic diversification, its holding offers diversity in investments, ranging from resource-rich Brazil and Russia to English-capable, tech-savvy India and manufacturing powerhouse China.

Funds focusing on the BRIC countries have been going great guns in recent years. While EEG has surrendered 14.59% during the first quarter, it is still priced at more than double its level of a year and a half ago and trading at close to 20 times the weighted average earnings of its portfolio holdings.

Secular growth in the quartet of nations in which EEB invests might provide for substantial long-term returns. But these are still emerging markets, which are certain to experience severe bumps along the way.

Read the full article.

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3 Stocks I Saw On TV, Dec. 26 (Video)

Dan Fitzpatrick examines three stocks viewed on Fast Money, including the Market Vectors Russia ETF RSX. Plus, Fitzpatrick says he's long Russian telecommunications provider VimpleCom VIP.

Watch the video.

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From Emerging Markets: Is It Time to Cash In?:

In the short term, some emerging markets will benefit from rising demand and prices for crude oil, fertilizers, food grains and other commodities. Russia is in a good position, given that it exports six million bpd of crude oil and also other minerals. In addition, the country has roughly $300 billion in net foreign reserves and good domestic finances...The BRIC country markets have indeed de-coupled -- at least from one another. Since October, while stock markets in China and India have continued to fall, those in Russia and Brazil have recovered from their initial drop.

Read the full article.

To stay up to date on Russia and other emerging markets, visit TheStreet.com's Playing Emerging Markets section.