Futures traders bet on Obama, but they backed Kerry last time
The presidential campaign futures market at Intrade.com is priced for an Obama victory today
Last time the nation voted, traders who placed bets on on George W. Bush and John Kerry at intrade.com rightly favored Bush for most of the campaign -- until Election Day, when so many switched their last-minute positions, in response to erroneous Internet news reports, that the final odds favored Kerry, leaving a majority of bets underwater, a review by Dartmouth University scholars showed. www.intrade.com
This year, Intrade showed McCain and Obama within striking range of each other -- until early October, when Obama pulled away.
As polls prepared to close, bets showed a 93 percent probability of an Obama victory -- with no last-minute swing, this time.