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  1. Business
6 November 2012

Mitt or Obama: who will help the economy more?

Answer: neither.

By New Statesman

There have been gaffes, there have been aggressive ads, there has been competitive hurricane-dealing, but tonight most people are going to end up voting for the candidate they think will best help the economy. Romney’s supporters say Obama’s policies will lead to a long period of meagre growth. Obama warns of a Republican fuelled recession. But according to Bloomberg, neither is right:

No matter who wins the election tomorrow, the economy is on course to enjoy faster growth in the next four years as the headwinds that have held it back turn into tailwinds.

Consumers are spending more and saving less after reducing household debt to the lowest since 2003. Home prices are rebounding after falling more than 30 percent from their 2006 highs. And banks are increasing lending after boosting equity capital by more than $300 billion since 2009.

“The die is cast for a much stronger recovery,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist in West Chester, Pennsylvania, for Moody’s Analytics Inc.

Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, agrees. He told reporters that while tomorrow’s presidential contest “may have some influence on the decision of businesses… I don’t think the election results per se are going to have a noticeable effect on how this economy is evolving.”

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