[h=3]By DAMIAN PALETTA and JON HILSENRATH[/h]
ReutersU.S. President Obama, with wife Michelle, and Vice President Joe Biden, with his wife, Jill, celebrate their win in Chicago early Wednesday morning.
In his second term, freshly re-elected President Barack Obama confronts an economy that offers glimmers of long-missing vitality but remains held back by fiscal and regulatory uncertainties and slowing global growth.
The U.S. economy has shown signs of improvement in recent months. Unemployment is below 8%, stock prices are up, the housing sector is reviving and consumers are starting to step up spending on cars and other big-ticket items after four years of paying down debt.
Reaction to Obama's re-election victory in global financial markets has been relatively muted, but fears about the fiscal cliff remain. Lena Komileva, chief economist of G+ Market Economics, assesses the president's options. Photo: Reuters
In his second term, freshly re-elected President Barack Obama confronts an economy that offers glimmers of long-missing vitality but remains held back by fiscal and regulatory uncertainties and slowing global growth.
The U.S. economy has shown signs of improvement in recent months. Unemployment is below 8%, stock prices are up, the housing sector is reviving and consumers are starting to step up spending on cars and other big-ticket items after four years of paying down debt.
Reaction to Obama's re-election victory in global financial markets has been relatively muted, but fears about the fiscal cliff remain. Lena Komileva, chief economist of G+ Market Economics, assesses the president's options. Photo: Reuters