An election result that leaves the struggling US economy as the biggest loser

This is a country that needs a coherent plan from politicians to shore up households’ incomes and to stimulate overall activity to prevent long-term damage to the economy, says Ben Chu

Even if the White House result is not legally contested, the wider outcome of the election still means a bleak prognosis for the American economy (AFP via Getty)

Investors, they say, hate uncertainty. If so, they will have detested US election night.

Entrenched market narratives of a Democrat “blue wave” breaking over the White House and Congress and unlocking trillions of dollars of stimulus spending were rapidly upended once the counting of the votes began and Donald Trump started chalking up majorities in key swing states such as Florida and Ohio.