The markets would like Mike
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Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg dipped his toe into the 2020 election water last week, and some investors are already salivating.
What it means: Analysts at investment bank Cowen and Co. argue in a recent whitepaper that Bloomberg's policies would provide the market a big boost, even though they argue the billionaire is "unlikely to substantially ease regulatory policies" and " is actually likely to toughen some capital and consumer protection rules."
The big picture: Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term expires in early 2021, and a new president is likely to replace him.
- "Our expectation is that Bloomberg would replace Jerome Powell with a center-left economist similar to Janet Yellen," analysts said in the paper.
Bloomberg also would be expected to "open the door for infrastructure legislation and other policies that would spur the economy and thus benefit housing and the banks."
The intrigue: While wide-ranging deregulation is not expected, Bloomberg has previously criticized some aspects of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law as too complex and complicated and "argued instead for recruiting people from inside regulated industries to craft rules" for them.
By the numbers: A new poll from Morning Consult/Politico shows Bloomberg leads President Trump by 6 percentage points in a hypothetical 2020 matchup, with 43% of likely voters saying they would back Bloomberg to Trump's 37% if the election were held today.
- However, 21% of those polled said they don’t know or don’t have an opinion.
- And Bloomberg is currently in sixth place, with just 4% of Democratic primary voters.
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