THE BIG PICTURE: What the election result means for the economy and the markets

As at late on Sunday afternoon, the Australian Electoral Commission noted that the state of play of the parties was ALP 70, Coalition 71, Greens 1, Independents 2 with six seats in doubt. It is likely that there will be three or four Independents. No major party is likely to win power in its own right for the first time since 1940. While the Greens will hold the balance of power in the Senate, this won’t occur until July 2011.