Worldwide Investors Prefer Obama

The folks over at Bloomberg News (a business-oriented news-site) wanted to know what investors thought about the coming American election. They had asked investors the same question back in January, and at that time the candidates were equal in the eyes of the investors (a mixture of both American and foreign investors). Things have changed since then.

The newest survey of 1,253 Bloomberg customers (who are investors, analysts, or traders) showed that President Obama now has an 11 point lead. About 49% of them favor President Obama, while about 38% of them favor Willard Mitt Romney. That's a significant move in opinion.

There is a big difference between American investors and foreign investors. The May 8th poll shows that American investors supported Romney by a 2 to 1 majority, while those investors outside of the United States supported Obama by a 3 to 1 margin. The poll also showed that President Obama is viewed favorably by 56% (31% in the U.S. and 70% outside the U.S.) and unfavorably by 40%. Romney was viewed favorably by 40% and unfavorably by 46%.

Why the big difference between American and foreign investors? I think American investors view Romney as one of them (and therefore would do what they want, especially in cutting their taxes). Foreign investors on the other hand, are much more concerned about the health of the American economy (and how it would affect their situation). They don't like Romney's support of Republican positions in Congress (like refusing to raise the debt ceiling, which they view as playing Russian roulette with American economy and the world economy).