Stock markets at new all-time highs –
The threat situation in the Ukraine war is becoming ever more serious and Germany is increasingly becoming an active party to the war following recent events. In his “State of the Nation” report, Putin once again threatened to use nuclear weapons if Western troops support Ukraine on the ground. Nevertheless, the world’s stock markets have not reacted to these threats at all. Some global stock markets even reached new all-time highs again, but cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum also went through the roof, rising by almost 50 per cent in 1 month. Gold is now close to its all-time high again at USD 2083/ounce. However, the stock exchanges in Eastern Europe have also outperformed again.
The KTX index for shares from Kazakhstan even closed up 11 per cent on 2 March, having already achieved a gain of 40 per cent last year. Risk-averse investors can buy Kazakhstani shares directly online via the broker Freedom Finance (Freedom Broker) from Cyprus if they open an account there beforehand, which is easy to do at the following link:
https://freedom24.com/invite_from/2952896 . Although Russian ADR or original shares are still not tradable due to the sanctions, new opportunities may now arise again with some Russian ADR/GDR, which you can now buy at discount prices on the OTC market via the brokers Zerich Securities Ltd or Freedom Finance from Cyprus. Interesting stocks on the OTC market are above all the Russian discounter Fix Price, which has now also gone public on the stock exchange in Kazakhstan, and the IT stocks VKontakte and Yandex (more on this in the stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (www.eastststok.de). However, you also need to open an account beforehand, which is easy to do at this link: https://trade.mind-money.eu
Andreas Männicke also gives his assessment of the new opportunities in Eastern Europe in his stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (www.eaststock.de) and in his new EastStockTV video, episode 226 at www.YouTube.com.
Are there no more “red lines” for the West in the Ukraine war?
French President Macron no longer considers the deployment of ground troops to be out of the question and is now also vehemently calling for the use of medium-range missiles, although German Chancellor Scholz initially rejected both proposals. Slovakia also does not want to participate in such madness. This means that the EU is completely divided on how to proceed in Ukraine. However, some Western politicians and warmongers are now clearly crossing “red lines” and thus infuriating Putin.
Were German generals planning an attack on the Crimean bridge?
The Russian side intercepted conversations between German generals discussing how the Taurus missiles could be programmed to destroy the Crimean bridge, among other things, without the Russians perceiving that Germany was involved. This intercepted telephone conversation between high-ranking generals has caused serious damage to Germany. Germany is thus increasingly becoming a party to the war. In Russia, heavy missiles that could also reach Germany have now been put on alert.
Germany is increasingly becoming a party to the war
Politicians such as the CDU politician Kiesewetter and the arms lobbyist Strack-Zimmerman from the FDP believe that the deployment of Taurus missiles is now urgently needed and that Ukraine can programme this itself. The aim is to destroy the supply routes in Crimea and Russia. If medium-range missiles are actually deployed now, Russia would react very sharply and attack more cities, and above all Kiev, with destructive weapons such as the new supersonic missile. This would also happen if Western missiles were used to destroy the Crimean bridge. If these Russian missiles then also happen to land on Polish soil as a counter-reaction, we are not far away from a third world war.
USA plans NATO deployment in an emergency
The US Secretary of Defence and Pentagon chief Lloyd James Austin, who recently made a prostate cancer illness public, wants to deploy NATO groups in the event of a defeat in Ukraine. The New York Times has now discovered that the American secret service CIA has been active with 12 bases in Ukraine since 2014 and has been conducting secret operations for the USA there, while the British secret service was and is also active there. James Boden sends his regards! This confirms more and more what was previously dismissed as a conspiracy theory. The only thing missing now is official confirmation of US bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine, which would be illegal in the USA.
Preparations for war are in full swing
German Health Minister Lauterbach is already planning military hospitals and other measures in the event of war. German Defence Minister Pistorius now wants to make Germany “ready for war”, as he puts it himself. Defence spending will be increased to 2 percent of GDP. All this money will then be missing in other areas such as education and social services. The majority of Germans are in favour of continuing to send heavy offensive weapons to Ukraine. NATO will soon be carrying out one of the largest manoeuvres on the Baltic border, where a defensive war against Russia is already being practised.
Navalny’s mysterious death raises many questions
Since the start of the war, the West has already sent 230 billion US dollars to Ukraine, partly for weapons, partly for humanitarian purposes and partly to prevent the Ukrainian state from going bankrupt. And all this for a corrupt oligarchic state where, as in Russia, there is no freedom of the press and the opposition is sometimes silenced. There are also regrettable cases like that of the opposition leader Navalny in Ukraine, but they are not as publicised in the West or do not receive as much media coverage as Navalny, who wanted to expose corruption in Russia and held Putin directly responsible for the corruption, just like the former Yukos boss Khodorkovsky, who also had to go to prison. The EU has now held Putin solely responsible for Navalny’s death in a vote.
Mysterious deaths in Ukraine too
Since 2015, there have been at least 10 suspected cases of politically motivated murders in Ukraine, which were then declared as mysterious suicides. They were all important people, but they did not have the popularity of the lawyer Navalny in Russia. Most of the dead belonged to the opposition “Party of Regions” of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, but some well-known Ukrainian journalists were also among them.
These were members of the opposition who were literally silenced, similar to Russia. It is not only Putin who has a list of pro-Russian people who have died in Ukraine. It is a great pity that there is no real opposition in Russia and that freedom of the press and freedom of opinion are very restricted, but unfortunately this is no different in Ukraine.
Who blew up the North Sea pipeline?
It is still unclear who blew up the North Sea pipeline and who helped. There are suspicions that lead to both the USA and Ukraine. But there is no clear evidence of guilt. This may also be due to the fact that Western and Ukrainian secret services have once again worked together. In any case, James Bond is now more active than ever before – on both sides, as the leak from the talks between the German generals has now shown.
Ukraine may be broke, but it has great natural resources
However, the Ukrainian state was already on the brink of bankruptcy before the war and was dependent on the IMF. However, the more than USD 2 billion for the forwarding of Russian gas was also very important for Ukraine financially. A further USD 500 to 700 billion has now been earmarked for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. This could also be worthwhile, as Ukraine has very large natural resources such as the largest lithium deposits in Europe. When the war is over, BlackRock & Co will probably want to appropriate the valuable assets for themselves. That is also what this war is about.
Stock and crypto markets from one high to the next
The global stock markets have not yet taken any notice of verbal statements by Western and Russian politicians and see no danger of escalation. Many global stock markets have reached new all-time highs, such as in the USA, Japan and Germany. The situation is different for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which is known as a crisis currency and has gone through the roof, rising by almost 50 per cent in one month and 166 per cent in one year to over 61,800 BTC/USD. Investors are now getting too greedy. The Fear & Greed Index is almost at its peak.
Gold on the rise again
But gold was also in strong demand as a “crisis currency”, whereby gold is now almost back at a new all-time high of USD 2083/ounce and is likely to reach a new all-time high soon, which is good for the gold stocks that have been severely neglected so far. However, the financial world and capital are still focussing primarily on AI stocks such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta and, in Germany, on Siemens and SAP. Secondary stocks are hardly being bought and are still lying idle. As in the previous year, the Nikkei225 index from Japan is the clear outperformer among the major global stock market indices, up 15 per cent since the beginning of the year after gaining over 30 per cent in the previous year. Japanese shares are considerably cheaper than American shares.
Eastern European stock markets outperform again
However, many stock exchanges in Eastern Europe have also proved to be outperformers this year, with shares from Hungary and Poland in particular proving to be very popular. However, the stock markets in south-eastern Europe and the Baltic states are also proving to be very profitable for western investors. Banking stocks such as OTP Bank from Hungary, but also the Bank of Georgia from Georgia, which is chasing one all-time high after another, are in particular demand here. The CECE Banks Index has already risen by almost 10 per cent this year.
Kazakhstan as a good alternative for Russian shares
Banks from Kazakhstan, such as fintech bank Kaspi.kz and Halyk Bank, are also in high demand following good figures. Shares from Kazakhstan continue to be a good alternative to Russian shares. The KTX index for shares from Kazakhstan has already risen by 11 per cent following a plus of 40 per cent in the previous year.
Investors who would like to trade directly in Kazakhstan online should open an account with the broker Freedom Finance (Freedom Broker) from Cyprus at the following link: https://freedom24.com/invite_from/2952896
However, investors can still buy Russian ADRs at discount prices in the OTC market via Freedom Broker. Similar opportunities are also available via the broker Zerich Securities Ltd from Cyprus, if you open an account via the following link: https://trade.mind-money.eu A list of tradable Russian ADR is published in the stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (www.eaststock.de). Both brokers also offer participation in lucrative IPOs on Wall Street as well as high returns on overnight and fixed-term deposits.
Inform first, then invest
Find out more now about the background and development of the Ukraine/Russia crisis as well as the future recovery potential of undervalued shares from Eastern Europe. There are also new opportunities in the Baltic states, south-eastern Europe and the CIS republics (Kazakhstan, Georgia), with the respective share indices all up in 2023. In 2023, 12 stock exchanges from Eastern Europe were among the 30 best-performing stock markets in the world, with 5 clearly outperforming the DAX. In 2024, 10 stock exchanges from Eastern Europe outperformed again with a strong gain. It is therefore still worth looking beyond the horizon to Eastern Europe.
Order a trial subscription now (3 issues by e-mail for just €15) to the monthly stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (EST) with another Ukraine/Kazakhstan/Russia special and a dividend special as well as lots of background information and new investment suggestions such as the “Share of the Month” and lucrative certificates at www.eaststock.de, under Stock Market Letter. The last EST was published on 23 February 2024.
Lecture note. Andreas Männicke will be giving a presentation at the “Invest” trade fair on 26/27 at the Freedom Broker stand on the topic: “New opportunities in Eastern Europe, especially in Kazakhstan”
TV/radio notes: On 5 February 2024, Andreas Männicke was interviewed by Carola Ferstl on Money Talk about gold, commodities and the new opportunities in Eastern Europe. You can download all radio and TV interviews in the video archive at www.eaststock.de, including the last video in EastStockTV, episode 226. By the way: have you already subscribed to the EastStockTV YouTube channel?
If you are interested in new EastStock seminars “Go East” in Frankfurt/m or other cities, please contact the EST editorial team (www.eaststock.de )