Update: Obama elected for second term; what does it mean for markets?

Barack Obama has led the Democrats to victory in the US elections, being appointed for a second four-year term as President, defeating his Republican opponent Mitt Romney.

Despite a close contest that saw many predict Obama would lose out - thanks to the high unemployment, sluggish economy and polls suggesting a lack of confidence in his leadership - he managed to edge out the Republican nominee. Winning votes in Ohio and other industrial states in America were thought to have clinched the final vote for Obama, after the President announced he would bail out the Detroit car industry, to demonstrate economic fairness, according to the FT. Even though Florida's electoral vote are still undecided, Obama won by a comfortable margin with 303 votes to Romney'...