I saw this headline last month:
BIG BANKâS ANALYST WORRIES THAT IRAN DEAL COULD DEPRESS WEAPONS SALES
Greenwald / Intercept coverage: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/20/asked-iran-deal-potentially-slowing-military-sales-lockheed-martin-ceo-says-volatility-brings-growth/
excerpt:
The possibility of an Iran nuclear deal depressing weapons sales was raised by Myles Walton, an analyst from Germanyâs Deutsche Bank, during a Lockheed earnings call this past January 27. Walton asked Marillyn Hewson, the chief executive of Lockheed Martin, if an Iran agreement could âimpede what you see as progress in foreign military sales.â Financial industry analysts such as Walton use earnings calls as an opportunity to ask publicly-traded corporations like Lockheed about issues that might harm profitability.
Hewson replied that âthat really isnât coming up,â but stressed that âvolatility all around the regionâ should continue to bring in new business. According to Hewson, âA lot of volatility, a lot of instability, a lot of things that are happeningâ in both the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region means both are âgrowth areasâ for Lockheed Martin.
The Deutsche Bank-Lockheed exchange âunderscores a longstanding truism of the weapons trade: war â or the threat of war â is good for the arms business,â says William Hartung, director of the Arms & Security Project at the Center for International Policy. Hartung observed that Hewson appeared to regard the normalization of relations with Iran not as a positive development for the future, but as an impediment. âAnd Hewsonâs response,â Hartung adds, âwhich in essence is âdonât worry, thereâs plenty of instability to go around,â shows the perverse incentive structure that is at the heart of the international arms market.â