The last time this happened, voters didn’t credit Bill Clinton. That may be a bad omen, or a good one.

If the stock market chose presidents, Joe Biden would be a shoo-in for reelection in 2024. The market rallied this month amid growing optimism about the economy, with the S&P 500 zooming 1.9 percent Tuesday on news that the consumer price index rose only 3.2 percent in October (compared to 3.7 percent in September). Stocks rallied again Wednesday on news that the producer price index fell 0.5 percent. Commentators are no longer debating whether the economy will experience a “soft landing” (i.e., a reduction in inflation without recession). The only question now is when it will arrive. The S&P 500 seems to have decided it’s already here.

But the stock market doesn’t choose presidents. Voters do, and polls continue to show they think the economy is in terrible shape. A Financial Times–Michigan Ross Nationwide Survey conducted November 2–7 is absolutely brutal on this point.

  • SCB@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Let’s say the deflation rate is 2% and you take out a loan at 1% interest

    No one is going to lend you money at an interest rate lower than the deflation rate, ever.

    If I buy stocks, I’m not technically investing in a company unless it was an initial sale of stock by the company and that usually isn’t the case. Instead it’s just speculation.

    Every stock purchase is an investment in a company, always. That’s literally what you’re buying

    So how is that different from letting it sit under a mattress economy-wise?

    The money then gets spent, which does not happen under your mattress.

    You’ve got some very foundational aspects of this entire process quite wrong.