Having encountered a number of recent setbacks it perhaps comes as no surprise that Obama’s popularity in the polls has experienced a decline. With three years left to run, it will be interesting to see how he fares during his remaining time in office. When Obama took to his second term, he did so with confidence and a vision of change, exclaiming that he would introduce new gun control laws, a new health care plan, tackle the Iranian nuclear problem and renew talks on climate change. So what, if any, progress has been made and did he, as some have suggested, omit one crucial factor; the economy? In spite of this, Obama has asserted that “2014 can be a breakthrough year for America.” With the uncertainty that still surrounds current political and economic issues, this may serve as a reminder that we should never take positive change for granted. Read more…
Tag Archives: health care reform
Obama’s Re-Election Among Best for Stocks
Neither a problematic release of health-care reform nor international outcry over spying allegations are enough to spoil Barack Obama’s triumph in having one of the best stock markets for a re-elected president. Signs of a reverse, however, are making their way on the horizon.
Standard and Poor’s index jumped 24 percent this year recording its third-biggest annual increase after a returning president since the 1930s, trailing the second terms of Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. The index has advanced 108 percent since Obama became president, adding more than $10 trillion in equity market value.
Obama stock increases have been favoured by a record Federal Reserve stimulus, interest rates around zero percent and a doubling of corporate profits since they dropped to a five-year low in 2008. The rally that started just after Obama took office now exceeds the average length of bull market by almost a year, and valuation have increased 18 percent in 2013. But the future looks grimmer with prospects of the Fed curtailing stimulus, threatening higher borrowing costs, and further gains under the current president are not anticipated.
