Investors Say Romney Better for Economy

Investors believe Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has the better plan for the U.S. economy — and will probably lose to incumbent Barack Obama.

Asked who will win the November election, 64 percent of global investors said President Obama and just 28 percent chose Romney. American investors were less bullish on Obama — 54 percent said the president will be re-elected, and 37 percent said Romney will win, while the rest had no opinion, according to the poll by Bloomberg Markets.

But 42 percent of respondents said Romney has a better vision for the economic future of the country, versus 40 percent for Obama. Back in May, global investors favored Obama over Romney on the economy, 45 percent to 34 percent.

Nearly half of the Bloomberg Professional service subscribers polled said a Romney win would be good for U.S. markets, versus 30 percent who believe it would be bad for the markets.

Romney’s tenure at the private-equity firm Bain Capital LLC “will give him the needed background to make the U.S. a much more business-friendly environment, and that in turn will help the economy grow at a faster clip,” Matt Kennedy, a senior financial associate at Oppenheimer & Co., told Bloomberg.

Only 11 percent of global investors polled said they are confident that if Romney is elected, he will follow through on a pledge to designate China a currency manipulator, while 82 percent are skeptical and the rest had no opinion.

Also, just 26 percent of respondents said that if Obama is re-elected, he will fulfill his vow not to allow Iran to produce a nuclear weapon, and 65 percent are skeptical.