THE US: The big money managers who steer billions of dollars in investments around the world reckon US Senator John Kerry might just beat President George W. Bush in the US presidential election in November but it is non-Americans who give him the best chance.
As part of a monthly poll of fund managers - usually intended to gather views on economic growth or corporate profits - investment bank Merrill Lynch added a question about who would win the election.
As in most current election polls, the race came out close. By 41 per cent to 37 per cent the nearly 300 respondents, who together manage around $940 billion in investments, said Mr Kerry, the Democrat, would beat Mr Bush, the Republican. The rest said they did not know.
But there was a difference in view depending on where the fund manager was based.
"This is very much an international perspective of the election," said Mr David Bowers, Merrill's chief global investment strategist. Mr Bush won among the 36 north American-based respondents by a margin of 44 per cent to 33 per cent, among the 68 British-based managers by 37 per cent to 34 per cent, and among the 43 Japan-based respondents by 49 per cent to 37 per cent.
The poll, released yesterday, was conducted between August 6th and 12th.
Mr Kerry had his private hairdresser flown across the US for a quick trim before a photo opportunity, it was reported yesterday.
He had top stylist Isabelle Goetz travel from Washington DC, to Portland, Oregon, last week, according to the New York Daily News. It was not clear who paid for the hairdresser to cross three time zones.