Nobody seems to call it that, however.

Big business continues to grouse about the White House , as it has done pretty much nonstop since Jan. The hostility of business and industry to Obama has become a byword over the years, from plutocrats complaining about being disrespected to bankers complaining that they're woefully misunderstood.

Yet judging by the stock market's performance, no President has been as good for the capital markets since Bill Clinton who also was detested by the business community. By some measures Obama also handily outranks that beacon of Republican business-friendliness, Ronald Reagan.

How Much Credit Does Obama Deserve for the Stock Market Recovery? - The Atlantic

Here are some rough figures to ponder: Obama beats Reagan and trails only Clinton among postwar presidents in many partial-term measures, too.

The booby prize belongs to George W. In many ways, of course, this is a misleading exercise. Presidents have much less influence over the economy, not to mention the stock market, than they're typically given credit for. But since they're invariably blamed by the opposition party for market slumps that occur on their watch, it's only proper to ask why this president, in particular, isn't getting credit for a substantial Bull Run on his.

Occasionally a commentator will begrudgingly award Obama props for the economy's performance, even in conservative publications, but on the whole he seems to get poor marks for economic stewardship. Gross says most of the credit for the stock market should go to the Federal Reserve and to U. As for the Fed, let's not forget that Obama did appoint Janet Yellen as chairwoman, in part because of the understanding that she would continue the policies of her predecessor, Ben Bernanke.

One frequently overlooked point is that, although presidents can't always do much to push the economy or stock market higher, their mistakes can do much more to push both lower.

Bush is the gilt-edged example here: His tax cuts, debt-fueled spending on military adventures, and indifference to regulation all helped drive the U. None of this means that the U.

President Obama stock market performance - Business Insider

Obama's housing policies have been ineffective. Job growth has been steady but too slow -- thank a recalcitrant Congress for that. Business doesn't like regulation, which it has been getting plenty of, at long last. More to the point, the stock market run-up in some ways underscores the structural problems of the U.

Those gains have been concentrated among the upper echelons of the income pyramid, very much at the expense of the working class. Don't tell me that "workers are shareholders too" -- the effect on their wealth and income from pension fund holdings is minuscule compared to the ground they lost through wage stagnation.

News Archive | TheHill

One of the most persistent phenomenons in American history is that Big Business never recognizes when it's getting a break. In , when Franklin Roosevelt watered down the Securities Act that created the Securities and Exchange Commission , progressives were outraged.

Wall Street should remember FDR "with gratitude," wrote an infuriated progressive in the New Republic.

But he knew that wouldn't happen -- the stock exchange, he predicted, "will turn upon Roosevelt with fury. How come nobody talks about the 'Obama bull market'? Above, the New York Stock Exchange last week.

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