US election during one of the worst financial crisis of all time – surely that’s something you don’t see every day. Personally I think it have been liberating to get an election that would take place in the middle of an extreme turmoil, as the election have been driven by the economic policies more than ever before.
The US has gone into recession, which has put pressure on the USD, something that has been a major issue for most of corporate America. Not so much because of the fact that the USD is low – which, though making it more expensive to acquire material offshore, have made their products cheaper and more attractive to foreign clients – but more because of the volatility on the forex markets. The importing or exporting parts of Corporate America needs stability, and are using a ton of resources on managing their risk, in times where companies are having a hard time keeping people on their payrolls. Fortunately increasing competition in the sector providing risk management software have increased significantly within the past couple of years, which means that there are very advanced risk management and liquidity solutions out there. So with a little more feel for the risk management and the forex markets in general, large parts of corporate America could easily reduce their exposure to the risks set forth by the volatility in the forex markets.
Needless to say the effects of the election are enormous, and you have to wonder whether US citizens will start placing their votes based on the candidates’ economic policies, rather than voting for the one they like the best – especially after we have seen Colin Powell supporting Obama, due to his policies and plans, rather than supporting his good friend McCain (or perhaps ex-good friend).
So the question remains – will your vote be based on policies or personality?