The challenges facing victorious Obama

US ELECTION

Joanna Shatney, head of US large cap equities at Schroders, highlights some of the obstacles facing the re-elected president.

After months of political trepidation over the US election, and countless rallies to secure leadership, President Barack Obama last week defeated Mitt Romney to win a second term. Obama’s victory in the election came as a landslide of major swing states fell to the incumbent president. However, this was not the victory of 2008. Obama does not have the same political capital as when he entered his first term. The biggest difference is that the House of Representatives has remained under Republican control. When Obama won the election in 2008 it was Democrat controlled (the Republicans...