Keep an eye on the Chinese and Brazilian stock markets on Monday.

For quite some time I was interested in recommending that my readers invest in Russia. I still had concerns about some political issues and organized crime in the country.  Most experts out there tell people to stay away from Russia, so I knew I had to do further research myself.

Like most investors, Harvard University’s billion-dollar endowment fund took a beating during the global financial crisis. Many investors cashed out, opting for the safety of the sidelines. But Harvard called a new play. During the first quarter, Harvard engineered a dramatic shift in its endowment-fund investment strategy – boosting its stakes in some of the most prominent emerging market exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Americans might rejoice as fuel prices tumble. But it means catastrophe for Russia. Its stock market is already down 80% this year, and Andrew Snyder says the country faces more economic woes in 2009. That’s why he recommends shorting the Market Vectors Russian ETF (NYSE:RSX).

Tensions have been running high between Russia and the EU since Russia invaded Georgia last month.

The two powers have reached an agreement on a draft peace plan, but business ties are a long way from normal. With the EU dependent on Russia for almost half of all it’s energy needs, this dispute could cause serious problems come winter.

Sara Nunnally says the EU’s scramble for alternative energy sources opens up new investment opportunities in frontier markets around the Caspian Sea. Sara says Turkey is also well placed to become a new regional energy hub.

Global investors seeking undervalued markets might want to look at Russia, China, India, Malaysia, South Korea or Brazil. And if they want to avoid overvalued markets, they’d be best to eschew Italy, the United States, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, or Germany.

We’ve been hearing it for years: “You’ve got to be in emerging markets.”