The ubiquity of politics

In the normal course of events, every four years sees major analysis of the US presidential candidates' positions on market-related matters as part of the run up to the November election. This year, however, first a series of geopolitical events reverberating through commodity and currency markets and then the worsening global financial market situation have dominated the political agenda. This would have been the case whether or not it was an election year. Governments have always been important for economic activity: after all, they hold the purse strings, raise taxes, control important...