Neck and neck

by Chris Bertram on July 17, 2004

Online bookies BlueSquare now have “Kerry and Bush neck and neck at 5/6”:http://www.bluesq.com/bet?action=go_events&type_id=2670 , which represents a significant shortening of Kerry’s odds. (Compare their odds on the next British general election, which have Labour 2/7 on.)

{ 9 comments }

1

Kevin Donoghue 07.17.04 at 2:10 pm

I am disturbed by this. I regard Bush as a disease which needs to be allowed to run its course. Otherwise the body politic will not be purged. If he loses we will still be hearing, for years to come, that tax cuts and pre-emption (of whatever) could have wrought miracles if only they had been pursued unflinchingly by a man with real balls.

2

bob mcmanus 07.17.04 at 3:21 pm

2 consecutive comments on Yglesias
yesterday

“FDR largely saved capitalism in the US from a socialist future brought by popular discontent related to the failure of the conservative business”

“The New Deal seriously threatened economic liberty, and caused significant human suffering by extending the depression and delaying the rise of rates of economic growth.”

The mood I am in this morning, the fight is never resolved, just moves from “nightmare” to “bearable” and back again.

Donoghue slightly Leninist above? Heighten the contradictions? Nah, do what you can when you can. Kerry/Edwards 04

3

Andrew Boucher 07.17.04 at 3:52 pm

Too bad the spreads are so large, because there’s no possibility of arbitraging the Iowa market, where Bush is still ahead (bid at 51) to win the popular vote.

The Iowa market itself looks pretty inefficient (absent of arbitrageurs). The sell price on the Dems is 50.5, when I would be very happy to sell at 50 (and then sell at the 51 of the Republican bid, to lock in a grand total of 1). I imagine this has to do with their rules of joining the exchange and paying for one’s trades (check?!), which discourages interested individuals (such as myself!) from joining.

4

Jason 07.17.04 at 6:53 pm

At Tradesports the prices are 50.3 to 51.0 for a W victory (however, they have a 4c transaction cost).

I think you would have trouble netting much money at all from the IEM, but you’d be welcome to try. It doesn’t look like they have any transaction costs at all.

5

Dan 07.18.04 at 2:28 am

with …?

6

Chris Bertram 07.18.04 at 10:27 am

Yes I was just puzzled by that “with” I’d inadvertently left dangling, Dan. I’ll fix it now/

7

Kimmitt 07.19.04 at 9:06 am

Otherwise the body politic will not be purged.

I used to think this, but now I think that the body politic will never be “purged” by seeing failed policy. Some people see class interests to the exclusion of all else, and some people are just damned fools.

8

Keith M Ellis 07.19.04 at 4:23 pm

Y’all realize that honest-to-goodness, actual moneymaking oddsmakers don’t set odds as direct predictions of events? Right?

9

SIlent E 07.19.04 at 8:47 pm

To second Keith, I think this says far more about the pool of customers at TradeSports than it does about the election…

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