Return of the downtrend

As the result of the presidential election across the ocean became known, investors turned their thoughts to the fiscal difficulties of the largest economy in the world. Anxiety over the ?fiscal cliff' pushed the New York indexes down. Company results in Q3, showing losses for the first time in eleven quarters, did not provide any fuel for growth. At the same time revenue levels were lower than analysts' expectations. All this was exacerbated by the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which quite quickly translated into macro economic data (including figures for the number of new jobs). Barak Obama's victory also received a chilly reception from the markets, despite the general expectation that his re-election would boost the stock markets. The situation was a little calmer in Europe. The Greek parliament accepted a package of cuts, and the country (where the economy has been shrinking for five years and where the unemployment rate has reached 25 pct) will probably be given two additional year