Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: Russia's oil production rose by about 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.01 million bpd in September -- a new monthly record for the nation, Reuters reported Friday, citing Russian Energy Ministry data.

OPEC oil ministers want to see a stable U.S. dollar and higher oil prices before they start to increase investment. OPEC maintains that because oil is priced in U.S. dollars it wants the U.S. to keep the dollar stable.

But these are secondary problems. The main thorn in OPEC's side is Russia. Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil exporter.

Unlike OPEC that is trying to keep a lid on production, Russia has increased production to a record 10 million barrels per day. Russia and other non OPEC countries were not invited to attend the OPEC meeting.

Brinker International (NYSE: EAT - option chain) stock is falling today after the company announced it has entered into a deal to open 25 Chili's Bar and Grill casual dining restaurants in Russia, starting with the first in late 2010. Traders are not reacting well to this news, but in my opinion a downturn is the best time to consider expansion if you can afford the costs. If you think this stock won't be falling too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged play on EAT.

This morning, EAT opened at $13.85. So far today the stock has hit a low of $13.68 and a high of $13.97. As of 11:35, EAT is trading at $13.80, down 27 cents (-1.9%). The chart for EAT looks neutral and S&P gives EAT a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

So far this has been a pretty decent earnings season, and soft drink giant PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) gets its turn to impress Wall Street tomorrow morning when it releases its second quarter numbers.

The company will be announcing its second quarter earnings before the market opens tomorrow, and analysts are expecting to see earnings of $1.00 a share from the world's second largest beverage maker. For the same period last year PepsiCo posted earnings of $1.03.

Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: Lost among President Barack Obama's trip to Russia to meet with president Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, was PepsiCo, Inc.'s (NYSE: PEP) decision to invest $1 billion in Russia over three years, on expectations for retail sales growth in the country.

Why does Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) earn so much money trading equities? The answer lies in a proprietary set of secret codes that Goldman uses when making their trades. In the first quarter of this year Goldman raked in $2 billion dollars from its equity trading and is the leading trader on Wall Street. Even the venerable JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE: JPM) only made $1.8 billion.

Now a Russian, named Sergey Aleynikov, who previously worked for Goldman is accused of stealing Goldman"s secret codes. These codes are the property of Goldman and enables them to do high speed and high volume trades in various stock and commodity markets.

Thanks a lot, Vladimir Putin. The former Russian president (now prime minister) signed an anti-vice law in 2006 that has led to the closure of most casinos in the struggling nation. This move quickly killed more than 400,000 jobs as of July 1 in a country already in the throes of an economic crisis. More than 40,000 casino workers were impacted in Moscow alone, which was home to 30 major casinos and 500 smaller operations.

Four remote Russian regions have now been established as special gambling zones, and gambling is now illegal anywhere outside of these locations.

Just look at these numbers. The World Bank expects private capital flows to developing countries to fall almost three quarters to $363 billion dollars from $1,200 billion in 2007. It logically follows that if developing countries do have the capital they need, they cannot stimulate their own economies.

Some countries like Russia and China can draw on their foreign exchange reserves. Countries which do not have reserves will have to rely on private capital. The world Bank estimates that developing countries will be short up to $635 billion dollars.

The BRIC nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China -- basically the powerhouses of the developing world, recently met to discuss, among other things, the possibility of forming an effort to move away from the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

Among options for consideration: a) a shift to another hard currency, b) a shift to a basket of currencies, and c) the possibility of the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights unit of account serving as the new reserve currency.

If you're 401(k) statement has got you down, just be glad you're not one of the 100 richest people in Russia.

According to Forbes, the net worth of Russia's wealthiest elite fell an astounding 73% in 2008. Not a single business leader in the Golden Hundred increased his fortune in the past year," according to Forbes. The story hasn't appeared on Forbes.com yet, but Blomberg reports that "Deripaska, the first of the billionaires to cede secured assets to banks, dropped to 10th from first place after losing an estimated $25 billion in the past year. Forbes put his fortune at $3.5 billion now."

There's trouble in the oil patch for OPEC. Over the past year, OPEC has cut production at least three times to bring oil production down and keep prices from falling below $40 per barrel. In fact, OPEC wants to bring the price of oil back up to $70-$75 per barrel. The big question is whether it is working.

Well, part of the plan is successful. U.S. imports from OPEC fell 818,000 barrels per day or 14% to 5.02 million barrels per day in January from a year earlier. But if you remember the old adage, "While the cat is away, the mice will play," OPEC's plan is not holding up too well. When OPEC cut production, Russia and Brazil jumped in and did the opposite, namely increase exports to the US.

The markets have been up so strongly that it's shockingly wonderful not to be able to find too much market bad news but a few things merit mention today. A new study out of the UK found that even being mildly overweight can have a major impact on life expectancy -- as in, three years less. Will people stop eating donuts and burgers? Nah.

With "Bonus Rage" burning up the media wires, people actually seem to be forgetting about the really grim news out there. Stocks may be running up, but bonds and the credit markets show no such optimism, as the ever grim Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge points out. Since bond investors tend to be smarter than stock investors, this is an ominous warning sign in the face of the huge four day rally underway.

Following the instructions of President John F. Kennedy, "I appreciate candor almost as much as I appreciate good news," we're moving forward with candor, however unpleasant.

Investors take heed: the U.S. recession most likely just got longer.

The European Union, led by Germany, has rejected Eastern Europe's pleas for an aid package of about $228 billion, citing budget concerns in their own Western European countries, Bloomberg News reported Sunday.

The E.U.'s failure to provide aid and fiscal stimulus to Hungary, the Czech republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Poland will hurt both the U.S. and global economies.

While in the United States our presses are running full throttle printing money, in Russia just the opposite is happening. In a herculean effort to defend the ruble, which has fallen 35% since autumn, Russia raised its one-day repurchase rate to 10% from 9%. The central bank has already engineered six such increases last year.

Russia has spent over $200 billion in recent months supporting its currency at a level of 41 rubles against a basket of 55% dollars and 45% euros. So far this week, the ruble has held steady at these levels. In addition, the central bank has lent rubles short-term for the equivalent sum of $13 billion, thus sharply reducing the supply of rubles.