Why investors are unwise to bet on elections
Turning a profit from political news is a lot harder than it looks
![illustration of a voting box with teeth at the opening, giving it a menacing look. A hand holding a stack of notes appears to be placing them inside the box](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240727_FND001.jpg)
To meet the world’s biggest news junkies, head not to Washington or Westminster. Instead, make your way to a trading floor, where information from every corner of the globe must be parsed the instant it emerges. Whatever the news, from coups to company-earnings reports, it probably affects the price of something. This year, amid a seemingly never-ending series of elections, the addicts are not short of a fix. Electorates representing most of the world’s population are heading to polling booths, and not just market-makers but investors everywhere face the tantalising prospect of trading on the results.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Democratic deficit”
Finance & economics July 27th 2024
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