E.On (OTC:EONGY) took a bite out of Gazprom (OTC:OGZPY) today. Germany’s largest utility company just got nearly a quarter of Gazprom’s Yuzhno Russkoye natural gas field. And all it had to do was give back some of the Russian giant’s stock. Not bad.

The turmoil in US stock markets is making all the headlines. But BRIC nations are facing a much deeper crisis in their stock markets.

On Monday, authorities halted trading on Brazil’s Bovespa for 30 minutes after it tumbled 10%. Trading in Russia was frozen on several occasions in the last two weeks to prevent an all-out collapse of the market. And China’s CSI Index has lost 58% of its value so far this year.

Despite recent setbacks, however, Andrew Gordon reckons Brazil is the most likely of the pack to weather the current financial storm

As Eastern Europe plays catch up with Western Europe, it is opening up some great investment opportunities. The Street Authority’s Nick Lanyi says the region’s strong economic growth and high dividends offers an attractive alternative to the stuttering US market. And Nick says he has found an ETF that rounds up the highest-paying stocks in the area…

The news that Washington is fast becoming the world’s biggest slumlord through its buyout of distressed mortgages has helped send international markets skyward.

The biggest gains were in Russian stocks. And this could be the situation for quite some time, says emerging markets expert Irwin Greenstein, writing for Contrarian Profits.

The irony, of course, is that Washington and Moscow are now marching in lockstep with each other when it comes to their stance on market intervention.

Russia’s main stock markets remain closed this morning after a slump in equities prompted the authorities to suspend trading. Falling commodity prices and financial turmoil have hit Russian investors hard. But Money Morning’s Jason Simpkins says Putin-lead Russia has itself to blame for scaring away foreign investment with its heavy-handed policies.