On a more positive note, citizens groups have held or are organizing more than 220 public fo-rums, nearly one for each of the 300 single-seat constituencies, where candidates are asked to explain their policy stances.

CNN: Not so Fresh Polls

One low-volatility stock is Fortune Brands (nyse: FO - news - people ), which has a 52-week beta of 0.52 and a Barra Risk Factor of only 5.

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