November 06: Focus Squarely On Presidential Elections
Regardless who wins today's presidential election, he will have the same high hurdles to somehow get over: still-high unemployment, 2% economic growth and a looming Fiscal Cliff issue that could spiral the U.S. -- and the world -- into another crushing recession. We here at Zacks hope every American exercises his or her right -- nay, opportunity -- to vote today.
But because the next president's obstacles are larger than any party affiliations, we also do not see anything in the markets changing overnight. You should not expect a drastic change in Zacks Ranks for companies in your portfolio -- it's highly unlikely our Zacks Rank #1s will automatically switch to Zacks Rank #5s as a result of who wins the election.
That said, new visitors to Zacks.com will no doubt see our timely and thoughtful article regarding the stocks to buy if Obama wins re-election and other stocks to buy if Romney becomes our 45th president. In a nutshell, Obama plans make it are favorable to transportation infrastructure, clean energy technology and hospitals. Romney plans are favorable to pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, banks and national defense.
Futures are up ahead of the opening bell today. Apparently the market feels somewhat confident in how it has priced in either a Romney or an Obama win. It's a good rule of thumb -- you want to see what the odds are of things affecting the economy in the near future? Check the stock market.
Outside the U.S., new discussions about Greek austerity measures has caused consumer sentiment in the country to dip to its lowest level since June. Obviously, today's U.S. General Election will rightly gain a majority of headlines, but Wednesday the Parliament in Athens votes on a package worth $17.3 billion (EUR 13.5B) regarding savings and labor reforms in Greece. It has caused a 48-hour strike in the labor force, and the measure is expected to pass.
But hey -- is economic strife in Greece really news anymore? Here in the U.S., we've got our priorities set: taking the time to get out and vote, and check the returns when we get home this evening. Make sure to pop plenty of popcorn…
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