elections Archives - the patient investor

October 6, 2014

Brazil: Stockholders cast their vote in upcoming election

In emerging markets, Brazil’s stock market surged after the left-leaning President Dilma Rousseff was forced into a run-off race against Aecio Neves, a centre-right challenger, who only surged in the final week of the campaign. Ms Rousseff is promising to expand Brazil’s social programmes and continue strong state involvement in the economy, while Mr Neves says he will pursue more centrist economic approaches, such as central bank independence, more privatisations and the pursuit of trade deals with Europe and the United States.

Brazil’s benchmark Ibovespa index rose 4.7% to 57,115.

October 6, 2014

We Should Be Protesting Too | BillMoyers.com

Lawrence Lessig compares pre-selection in America’s “green primary” to Beijing’s 1200-strong “nominating committee” proposed for Hong Kong elections:

To run in any election, primary or general, candidates must raise extraordinary sums, privately. Yet they raise that money not from all of us. They raise it from a tiny, tiny few. In the last non-presidential election, only about .05 percent of America gave the maximum contribution to even one congressional candidate in either the primary or general election; .01 percent gave $10,000 or more; and in 2012, 132 Americans gave 60 percent of the superPAC money spent. This is the biased filter in the first stage of our American democracy….

America’s government is demonstrably responsive to the “economic elite and organized business interests,” Gilens and Page found, while “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”…..

There is no doubt that because of the way we fund campaigns, the “economic elite” — what conservatives call “the cronies” and progressives “corporate power” — have hijacked American democracy…..

May 26, 2014

Poroshenko Declares Victory in Ukraine Presidential Election | WSJ

From the WSJ:

KIEV—Petro Poroshenko declared victory in Ukraine’s presidential election Sunday after exit polls showed the pro-Europe chocolate tycoon won more than half the vote….

June 17, 2012

Greece’s Election Results: Déjà vu All Over Again? | TIME.com

Joanna Kakissis: The conservative New Democracy (ND) party eked out a victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, edging out the leftist Syriza party, which is strongly opposed to the austerity measures imposed as part of the country’s bailout. The margin was less than three percentage points….New Democracy failed to win an outright parliamentary majority and must join forced with at least one party to govern…. Greek media are speculating that the conservatives might join force with their traditional rival, the Socialist PASOK party, which came in a distant third on Sunday.

via Greece’s Election Results: Déjà vu All Over Again? | World | TIME.com.

June 17, 2012

Greek “final exit polls” suggest a New Democracy/Pasok coalition | The Big Picture

Greek “final exit polls” please remember these are Greek “final exit polls” suggest that New Democracy and Syriza and Pasok will have 159 seats in the 300 seat Parliament. The important point is to win, as the party with the most votes gets an additional 50 seats in Parliament. Its still pretty close but it looks from the “final exit polls” that there will be a sigh of relief in equity markets tomorrow.

via Greek “final exit polls” suggest a New Democracy/Pasok coalition | The Big Picture.

April 23, 2012

Ex-Fed Kohn: 'Huge Risk' US Won't Take Steps On Debt, Deficit By Year End

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones) – There is a real danger U.S. authorities won’t take the necessary steps to fix the country’s debt and deficit problems between the elections and the end of this year, former Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said Monday. “What’s required to put the fiscal deficit on a sustainable path are some difficult decisions having to do with entitlement spending and taxes in the United States,” Kohn said at the Europlace forum……. Kohn added the U.S. political system has become “soap opera-ized” with such a huge gulf between the country’s political parties there is a real risk debt and deficit will continue to grow past the end of this year.

via Ex-Fed Kohn: ‘Huge Risk’ US Won’t Take Steps On Debt, Deficit By Year End.