ROB Insight is a premium commentary product offering rapid analysis of business and economic news, corporate strategy and policy, published throughout the business day. Visit the ROB Insight homepage for analysis available only to subscribers.

Barron’s new-found infatuation with Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. sounds disturbingly like too many dysfunctional romances we’ve seen. It’s a love affair based too strongly on a naive hope that the companies’ unattractive traits, which have turned off other investors, can and will be changed.