Back From the Dead: The Energy and Auto Sectors Companies that procure real, accounting gimmick-free, cash flow are indeed hard to kill and their stocks will always be easy to own. Jun 03, 2021 | 12:08 PM EDT "Hard to Kill." I surprised myself by choosing a Steven Seagal film title for this column's tagline. Much like Seagal's epically heroic character, Mason Storm, however, there are companies - and stocks - in this market that have been left for dead that are in the process of re-animation. Energy is one such sector. As of this writing, front-month oil futures are quoted with Brent at $71.40/barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $68.93/barrel. There is no oil producing company in the world that is not grossly profitable at that level of commodity pricing. As lockdowns are lifted and governments continue to unwisely limit production - as with the Biden Administration's decision to cease handing out permits for drilling on U.S. federal land and effectively close Alaska's ANWR to development drilling - demand is going to grow. When demand rises faster than supply... yes, you know the rest. Prices rise.