Thinking About Money

There are two areas I’m watching – the overall market, and the value of the dollar. The market, because even though I’m relatively pleased with my individual stock choices, there is no doubt that my portfolio will be influenced by the overall market. And the value of the dollar because I have a nice expensive vacation coming up next summer in Europe, and though I have some hedging in place, I don’t want it to get significantly more expensive than it already is.

Common knowledge (which is always questionable) would suggest the Republicans holding on to both houses would be good for the stock market and the economy. One imagines the movers and shakers of the economy (the banker and Wall Street types) being largely Republican and going into huge fits of selling were the Democrats to see any significant success.

Yet given the truly staggering deficits brought about by a fully Republican government, it seems possible that even the rightist of the right might (when evaluating the economy) see Democratic victories in the House and Senate as representing a possible return to fiscal responsibility (a term that is nearly impossible to apply to our current government).

So here we are, just a few days from the election, and here is my question (comments invited): would the Democrats taking the Congress help or hurt the market, and which way is the dollar likely to move? Frankly, I haven’t a clue.