The Web, as any sophisticated investor knows, is replete with sites where investors can research companies and track their portfolios. But most of these are limited to companies based in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Japan and parts of Southeast Asia. Surprisingly few focus on the markets of emerging nations, where many analysts expect the largest profits will be generated over the next decade. We hereby offer reviews of the top "emerging markets" sites on the Net.
LaStreete.com - This Tangier-based site provides real-time quotes for Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Chad and Cameroon stock market issues. Though the data is encyclopedic, the interface needs fine-tuning: Many of the analyses are in French, with others in Portuguese and still others in Yoruba. The graphics are excessively arty, three-dimensional cubist structures. And expressions like "Texas straddle" don't seem to have the same meaning in Africa as in the United States. What's more, some visitors have complained that every time they send the site e-mail, they get blitzed with letters in broken French from a Nigerian diplomat who promises to pay $2.5 million to anyone willing to come to Lagos and help him free up the cash frozen in his Swiss bank account. Still, LaStreete is an indispensable tool.
XtremeInvestor.com - Considering a stake in the Falkland Islands version of Urban Fetch, the Ecuadorian equivalent of Pets.com or Sri Lanka's answer to Drkoop? Then this is the site for you. Specializing in Third World e-tailers and services, XtremeInvestor has analysis, weekly quotes and coup d'etat results. One of its most attractive features is a function that lets investors revalue stocks hourly, as the currencies in which they're traded are devalued by the local authorities.
ThirdWorldMunicipal.com - Investors seeking true diversification recognize the enormous potential in municipal bonds issued by cities in developing countries worldwide. But because these issues are rarely evaluated by the major rating services, it's difficult to choose between Port-au-Prince 2010s and LaPaz 2020s. This site removes much of the guesswork, though it's not without shortcomings. Inflation is factored in only once a month. The site's chat rooms are dominated by foul-mouthed teenagers and cashiered Central American colonels. And neither the regulatory authorities nor the Webmaster seem inclined to quell the hype. Last week, four Paraguayan teens were forced to turn over $12.6 million in illicit profits after talking up Rangoon real estate and then dumping their holdings. Three were executed, which makes a reprise of the scandal unlikely. Still ...
TheMadrasShorts.com - The Shorts are two Indian hedge-fund operators who've built a following in the Asian subcontinent with their witty, irreverent investment advice. Correctly predicting the implosion of SoSari, the prominent Indian ISP, they also made prescient calls about Sherpas "R" Us (the now-bankrupt sporting goods outfit) and The Olive Green Garden (a chain of Vietnamese-themed restaurants oriented toward returning American servicemen).
Several worthy sites failed to make the cut. Fifth World Interactive, which specializes in unlisted securities in places like Rwanda and Bangladesh, seemed risky. UlanBatorEtAl, a site devoted to Mongolian, Manchurian and Siberian derivatives, was excluded because the interface was in Urdu. And PaxVobisu, a portal dedicated to socially conscious companies in Eastern Europe, seemed a tad esoteric. Obviously, this could change when Ben & Jerry's and The Body Shop set up in Kosovo.
Joe Queenan is a contributing editor at GQ and author of My Goodness: A Cynic's Short-Lived Search for Goodness.
