White House Race Causes Investor Jitters

White House Race Causes Investor Jitters
Sat Jun 12, 7:25 AM ET
By Kenneth Barry

FROM: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=1&u=/nm/20040612/bs_nm/column_stocks_week_dc
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Americans paid final tribute to former President Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) and U.S. markets fell silent for a day, Wall Street can be forgiven for feeling wistful about the Reagan era.

During the Reagan presidency, the Cold War ended, the economy stirred anew and America seemed to regain a measure of confidence.

Today, by contrast, the price of oil again looms over the economic landscape, interest rates are set to rise and the U.S. military finds itself ensnared in a complex foreign adventure. If that's not enough, it's anyone's guess who will occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for the next four years.

Stocks rose in all but one of Reagan's eight years in office. Experts may disagree over how much his efforts contributed to the market's gains. Supporters cite the stimulative tax cuts he championed and the impact on the market's psychology of his optimistic message about America.

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