The bull's blind spot: markets are ignoring political risks

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  Hello, Alice Fullwood here, co-host of Money Talks,

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  our weekly podcast on markets, the economy and business.

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  Welcome to Editors' Picks.

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  You're about to hear an article from the latest edition of The Economist.

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  Thanks for listening.

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  The past year has brought war to the Middle East,

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  escalation of the trade conflict between the West and China and on July 13th an attempt to kill the frontrunner in America's presidential race.

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  But if you look at financial markets you'd think nothing was amiss.

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  No amount of blood or political rancour it seems can distract Wall Street from the good economic news that fears of recessions have so far proved wrong and that inflation has nonetheless tumbled.

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  As a result, markets are at or close to all-time highs in America,

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  the Eurozone and Japan, and many emerging economy stocks are booming too.

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  Optimism is rife.

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  Compared with companies' profits,

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  America's stocks have only ever been this pricey during two previous booms.

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  It may be that the attempt on Donald Trump's life was a random act without profound implications.

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  America has a long history of attacks on politicians.

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  Neither the two attempts on Gerald Ford's life in 1975 nor the one on Ronald Reagan's in 1981 brought on crises.

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  Yet the fact that it is easy to imagine partisan loathing inspiring an assassination attempt is a reminder of America's political dysfunction which is spilling over into global disorder.

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  And if Mr Trump and his young running mate, JD Vance,

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  ride on a wave of solidarity to the White House,

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