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Trump has been good for stocks, but investors should still root for a Biden win

Neoliberal thinking behind tax cuts, deregulation is unsustainable as growing inequality stokes social unrest

Ben Paul

Published Sun, Oct 18, 2020 · 09:50 PM

US politics

DONALD Trump's presidency is widely preceived as a disaster for the US and the world. He has sowed confusion, hatred and mistrust, and has failed to demonstrate any real leadership.

Yet, from the narrow perspective of stock investors, he hasn't done too badly.

The S&P500 is up 53.9 per cent since Mr Trump's inauguration in January 2017, which just pips the 52.3 per cent rise charted by the benchmark index during Barack Obama's second term.

In fact, the only other Republican president in the last 40 years who saw a stronger advance in the S&P500 than Mr Trump while in office was Ronald Reagan in his second term.

From Mr Reagan's second inauguration to the point when he left office, th…