Sanctions on Russia could hurt U.S., too

In thinking about the crisis in Ukraine, the biggest worry for some American companies could actually be U.S. sanctions against Russia. If they are enacted, Russia is drafting laws that could then allow it to seize the assets and accounts of U.S. firms. And there’s a lot at stake for U.S. firms:

• Pepsi has invested more than $3 billion in Russia. It was the first company to do business in the Soviet Union, back in 1974.

• Russia’s a huge market for Proctor and Gamble, the consumer goods company.

• Boeing planned to invest around $30 billion in its projects in Russia, including processing titanium for its planes.

• But it’s oil companies that would suffer most. Most of them have large stakes in Russia, but ExxonMobil has sunk $10 billion into the country and is heavily invested in exploring Russia’s arctic oil reserves.