Should the pressure for such reforms now be relieved thanks to Americancapital infusions, it is predictable that the Russian energy sector will simply serve once again as a multibillion-dollar annual revenue stream for the preservation of the military-industrial complex.
Among the globally-exposed stocks that UBS says look cheap relative to their sector are embattled oil giant BP, which is struggling to contain the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, drug-makers Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis, media and advertising companies Pearson and WPP, tobacco concern BAT, metals and mining giants, ArcelorMittal, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, financial firms ING and Aegon, capital goods companies Philips and Schneider Electric and energy company Repsol.
Margo Thorning is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advocating tax, energy, regulatory and environment policies that facilitate saving and investment, economic growth and job creation.