Sunday, November 2, 2008

Australian minister sees economic boost after U.S. election

SYDNEY: Confidence in the Australian economy should receive a boost when the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday is over, Assistant Treasurer Chris Bowen said on Sunday.

This should occur regardless of whether Democratic candidate and frontrunner Barack Obama or Republican rival John McCain is returned to the White House, Bowen told television.

"The tendency tends to be that once the election is out of the way, regardless of the winner, you see a boost in confidence," Bowen said, noting the boost would be felt globally.

"Now, there's no doubt that around the world there are strong views about who should win this election, but of course American confidence would be affected regardless of the result."

The election comes amid what is regarded as the most severe global economic downturn since the Great Depression of the1930s. The crisis was first sparked by a meltdown in the U.S. sub-prime home loan sector.

The state of the world's largest economy is shaping up as easily the most critical issue in the campaign for U.S. voters.

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