WASHINGTON - America's political class was Wednesday learning a new lesson in the power of money - and the possibly decisive impact of unfettered millions of dollars on November's battle for the White House.
All eyes were on Wisconsin, for years a Democratic-leaning battleground, now a test bed for a new era of unlimited cash in US politics, where a union-busting Republican governor Tuesday repelled an ouster bid.
Scott Walker's triumph in a recall election over Democrat Tom Barrett will be picked apart for hints of how the state, and the nation, will go when President Barack Obama meets Mitt Romney in November.
While political consultants, campaign cash moguls and pundits poured over the smoldering tea leaves from Wisconsin, one thing was certain: the race was awash in cash.
The vote was a key test of a Supreme Court ruling tearing down limits on campaign spending by corporations, unions, other groups and rich individuals.
"The big picture here, is that the Citizens United court case has opened the floodgates for really wealthy donors, conservative donors," said Clyde Wilcox, a political science professor at Georgetown University.
Such donors "see the chance to actually reshape public policy by just unlimited spending."
Walker won the recall by 53 percent to 46 percent but the money race was not even close. A stunning $63.5 million was splashed on the election, nearly double the amount spent in the same gubernatorial match-up two years ago.
The Center for Public Integrity said Walker outspent his foe by more than seven to one after raising more than 30 million dollars for his campaign, much from out of state, backed by more than $16 million in spending by outside groups.
By comparison, Milwaukee mayor Barrett raised $3.9 million and fared poorly with backing from independent groups.
Big Walker donors included millionaires, billionaires and out of state business titans, with deep pockets sure to be tapped again in November.
The contest is an example of "what will likely continue to happen with regard to campaign spending in the post-Citizens United world," said
Kathleen Dolan, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin.
Robert Borosage of the liberal Campaign for America's future said money not only floods airwaves with ads, it helps candidates organize.
"Wisconsin is a sterling example of what elections will be: the power of mobilized right-wing and corporate money against the power of mobilized people."
Therein may lay the most salient warning for Obama's campaign.
November is shaping up as a clash between the president's complex turnout and motivation machine and the power of unlimited corporate cash bet on Romney.
Ad blitzes by pro-Romney groups known as super-PACs helped destroy the former Massachusetts governor's Republican foes and are now targeting Obama.
Obama meanwhile may fall short of his 2008 fundraising bonanza of $750 million, meaning he will likely be outspent.
The Politico website last week shook the election race with a report that spending by Republican-backing groups in 2012 could reach $1 billion - and Romney will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars more.
Walker's win also left unions questioning whether their own funding muscle on behalf of Democrats will be swamped by corporate, and conservative cash.
Obama will not however be outspent seven-to-one like Walker and the White House said the spending orgy in Wisconsin distorted the true picture.
"You had was an incumbent governor in a repeat election ... in which he outspent his challenger by a magnitude of seven or eight to one with an enormous amount of outside corporate money and huge donations," said spokesman Jay Carney.
Other caveats may also be in order.
Despite Walker's triumph, Obama is in decent shape in Wisconsin, part of a midwestern path - one of several routes - to 270 electoral votes he needs to reclaim the White House.
Obama led Romney in Wisconsin exit polls Tuesday by seven points. Recent opinion polls also have him up in a state he won by 14 points in 2008,
Despite the explosion of cash in Wisconsin, the recall looked a lot like the 2010 race when Walker won, beat Barrett by 52 percent to 46 percent, a similar margin to Tuesday's race.
That raises the question of how many votes the big money shifted?
The presidential campaigns meanwhile are already buying out time in key television markets for an autumn of negative attacks.
That poses another query : will bloated super-PAC spending simply be diluted in an already saturated market?
And for all the ads, the election may turn on the question of the economy, Obama's efforts to rescue it and Romney's claims the incumbent has failed.
Character judgments made after party convention speeches and presidential debates in October may also play an outsize role in deciding the race.
Forex: EUR/USD below 1.2500, Germany data - FXStreet.com
Till debt do us part? How money issues cause more arguments than children or chores - and often end in divorce - Daily Mail
|
No matter how in love a couple are, when it comes to managing money together, relations can all too easily become hostile.
American couples who wait longer to walk down the aisle are inevitably bringing more debt to the table which is why experts say preparing your finances may be more worthwhile than planning the wedding itself.
According to statistics married couples who quarrel about bank balances and debt are more likely to wind up in the divorce courts.
Stress: Financial woes send many couples to the divorce courts so talking about finances before the wedding is recommended by experts (Stock Image)
A recent survey by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Harris Interactive found that money causes more arguments among men and women than other typical domestic disputes.
A full 27per cent of respondents said their spats started over money, more than problems with kids (16per cent) or chores (13per cent).
A 2009 study by researchers at Utah State University revealed that couples who locked horns over finances at least once a week are 30per cent more likely to get divorced.
Chris Kimball, a certified financial planner in Lakewood, Washington, told Reuters: 'I probably spend 15per cent of my time with couples actually talking about money, and the other 85per cent talking about personal issues.'
'It all ties into money. It's a very powerful thing that can do great things in people's lives, or can really mess them up.'
Shockingly, nearly one-half of all people have lied to their significant other about money, according to an April poll by Self Magazine and Today.com.
And a survey conducted this spring by CreditCards.com revealed that six million Americans have hidden financial accounts from their spouses or live-in partners.
The deception isn't usually malicious. Often it's prompted by guilt and embarrassment about spending. Compounding the problem is that financial behavior is very deeply set, and can't be altered easily.
So where do couples go wrong, when it comes to money - and how can they make it right?
Only 43per cent of couples talked about money before marriage, according to a May 2010 survey conducted for American Express.
But lack of disclosure about your financial issues - maybe you're struggling with $100,000 in student debt, or maybe you filed for bankruptcy at some point - isn't really any different from lying. Be up front about your financial situation, have the "money talk" long before the big day, and tackle any challenges as a couple.
'My significant other didn't tell me about the money problems we were having, and then one day we had no credit left and had lost pretty much everything,' says Holli Rovenger, an author and speaker in Greenville, South Carolina. 'If we'd worked together, maybe our finances wouldn't have spiraled out of control.'
Minor money differences can be overcome as long as you have the basics covered: You have your daily needs met, you're bringing in more than you're paying out, and you're able to build a nest egg for the future. But once overspending and debt enter the picture, all bets are off.
'I was always a black-belt shopper, and hated to miss a sale,' says Jenny Triplett, an entrepreneur in Powder Springs, Georgia, who's been married to husband Rufus Triplett for 22 years. 'I'd have bags full of new clothes in the closet, and only bring them out one piece at a time. But eventually we came to a compromise, and I got my spending under control.'
That's exactly the right template for resolving money disputes, planners advise. Even with differing money styles, if both partners take strides toward the middle and agree on broad outlines of a budget, it could prevent countless disputes.
FOREX-Euro rises on short-covering as market awaits ECB - Reuters UK
* Short-covering rally boosts euro
* But traders wary before ECB policy meeting
* Aussie jumps as Q1 GDP well above forecasts
LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - The euro rose on Wednesday as investors cut hefty short positions, though concerns about Spain's troubled fiscal situation and the possibility of a rate cut by the European Central Bank could limit its rise.
The euro recouped losses suffered on Tuesday after a Spanish minister warned the country was losing access to credit markets, helped in part as unexpectedly strong Australian growth data lifted the Australian dollar and other riskier assets.
G7 finance ministers took no immediate steps to soothe fears over Europe's debt problems on Tuesday but did discuss policy responses, including "progress towards financial and fiscal union in Europe," the U.S. Treasury said.
Analysts said any move towards closer financial integration would boost the euro, but progress is likely to be very slow, leaving many traders looking to sell the euro on rallies.
However, the dollar also remained under pressure after weak U.S. jobs figures last week sparked talk that the Federal Reserve could resort to a fresh bout of quantitative easing.
"Euro/dollar is likely to squeeze higher but people will come in and sell rallies ... A one cent rally on the day would be a good opportunity to fade it," said Paul Robson, currency strategist at RBS.
Most in the market expect the ECB to keep interest rates at 1.0 percent, but there is a risk policymakers will opt to cut rates to boost the euro zone's fragile economy. A rate cut would probably weigh on the euro.
The euro was up 0.6 percent against the dollar at $1.2527, pulling away from a two-year low of $1.2288 plumbed last Friday. But traders said any gains in the currency were likely to run into offers up to $1.2540.
With recent data showing speculators holding record short euro and substantial long dollar positions, analysts saw room for the euro to gain as they trim their bearish euro trades.
But the euro could stall ahead of chart resistance at $1.2545, the 76.4 percent Fibonacci retracement of its decline last week, after it failed to breach that level on Tuesday.
SPAIN WORRIES
Concerns are growing that Spain could resort to requesting international aid to help restore health to its ailing banking sector. There is also a risk that Greek elections later this month could lead to Greece leaving the euro.
On Tuesday Spain's treasury minister Cristobal Montoro said the country was losing access to funding markets.
Sentiment was not helped as Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings of several German banks on Wednesday, citing the risk of further shocks from the debt crisis.
"Bleak as the euro area outlook is, it could easily get worse after the Greek election on 17 June and there may be an argument for the ECB keeping its powder dry," said James Nixon, chief European economist at Societe Generale.
"We believe the ECB is increasingly concerned by the moral hazard actions. Each time it intervenes it merely eases the pressure on Europe's political leaders."
Against the yen, the euro rose more than 1 percent to 99.14 yen, away from Friday's 11-year low of 95.59 yen.
The higher-yielding Australian dollar, which suffered a drop of over 6 percent against the U.S. dollar last month, jumped 1.3 percent to $0.9866 after data showed Australia grew well above expectations in the first quarter.
This took it well above Friday's 8-month trough of $0.9581.
The U.S. dollar rose by 0.5 percent against the safe-haven yen to 79.15 yen, helped after Japan warned it was ready to step in to curb the yen's appreciation. (Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski in Tokyo; Editing by Adrian Croft)
MONEY MARKETS-Key dollar rate dips on stimulus hopes - Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment