If money talks, then the Democrats will be walking away from controlling the Senate after Tuesday’s elections.
A new Wall Street survey of industry officials finds that just 17 percent approval of President Obama’s performance and 69 percent want Republicans in charge of the Senate.
The U.S. midterms survey from ConvergEx Group, which provides global brokerage and trading related services, also said that Wall Street gives Obama a grade of D or F.
What’s more, Wall Street believes that Republican control of Capitol Hill will be better for financial markets.
“We are looking at the worst relationship between the financial services industry and Washington in living memory,” said Nicholas Colas, ConvergEx Group chief market strategist, in a statement to Secrets. “You would have to go back before the modern era of regulation to find comparable antagonism toward the federal government from Wall Street.”
Congress doesn’t get off any better. It’s approval rating is 8 percent.
Still, Wall Street, facing years of regulations and verbal attacks from the White House, want’s a political change in Washington.
“This survey points to hope by the end of the year, as respondents think a Republican win will lead to a rally in most sectors,” said Colas. “With approval ratings currently so low they can only go up, this election could be a turning point in the relationship between Wall Street and Washington.”
Key results from the polling:
° 17 percent of respondents say they approve of the job Obama is doing as president, while 73 percent said they disapprove.
° Half (50 percent) of those surveyed give the President a “D” or “F” grade on handling issues of concern to the financial services industry.
° Opinions of Congress are even lower, with just 8 percent approving of the job being done by Congress and 81 percent disapproving.
° 69 percent of respondents say they would like Republicans to be in control of the Senate following the elections.
° By 61 percent to 14 percent, Republicans are trusted over Democrats on issues impacting the financial services industry.
° For eight of nine market sectors, a higher percentage of respondents said equities would respond positively to a GOP win than to a Democratic win. Only for the healthcare sector do more investors expect a positive outcome in response to Democrats holding the Senate.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
