Obama Futures Gaining With S&P 500 on Best Start in 21 Years

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s biggest rally to start a year since 1991 is coinciding with a 15 percent increase in President Barack Obama’s re-election odds, showing growing investor confidence in the U.S. economy.

The benchmark gauge for American shares has climbed as much as 7.5 percent in 2012, the most in 21 years, as unemployment fell and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke vowed to keep interest rates near zero through 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The cost of a bet paying $10 should Obama win another term rose to $6 on Feb. 10 from $5.20 on Jan. 1 and below even money in November at Dublin-based bookmaker Intrade.