Jim Reid, at Deutsche Bank:
Today we have the small matter of the US Presidential election. We are not sure if an election result has ever mattered so little to the markets. Whoever gets elected will have to deal with things larger than normal party politics so it’s no surprise to us that there hasn’t been the usual research dedicated to what will happen to the market under either the next Republican or Democratic administration.
You just can’t envy the candidates. Some recent economic snippets from the FT:
Manufacturing activity plunged to its lowest level since 1982 last month, the Institute for Supply Management reported on Monday, providing further evidence of the deepening of US economic turmoil. The scale of the downturn was starkly illustrated by the October car sales figures which hit their lowest level for 25 years. GM’s car and light-truck sales fell by 45 per cent and Ford’s by 30 per cent.
Yesterday’s manufacturing figures - the ISM index fell from a level of 43.5 in September to 38.9 in October - disappointed economists. They had expected a drop to 41.5. The components of the index were extraordinarily weak, showing production of goods, as well as orders, declining sharply amid slowing global demand.
Related links
Global financial crisis - FT.com special package
