This week’s bond is from the Yaroslavl Oblast and in this suddenly unstable fixed income environment it was chosen for clear reasons. Firstly, it has an effective YTM of 7.42%, maturing in 598 days, giving you the security of a solid yield but not so far out that you have to worry about your money returning to you. Yaroslavl is about 175 miles from Moscow and 500 miles from St. Petersburg, located in the Upper Volga region. Its natural resources include forestry, agriculture, and a limited amount of oil and natural gas. Most of its citizens live in urban areas and are educated and it enjoys good geographic location inside Russia. With the Kremlin enjoying a 420 Bln. USD currency reserve, and growing, we feel a major oblast such as this is a welcome refuge to sit out the current credit and debt storm sweeping the globe.