Morgan Stanley here in Adelaide have released their September Investment Viewpoint.

"Australia and Germany head to the polls on the 7th and 22nd of September respectively. Barring any surprises, we expect the outcomes in both cases are unlikely to upset markets...We are cautiously optimistic and feel the worst is over, but Europe’s recovery is still fragile and the level of public debt remains a burden."

Read more: Morgan Stanley Investment Viewpoint September 2013

Amongst the recent bickering between the major parties over their respective budget costing announcements, the changes proposed by the Coalition for small-medium businesses may have been overlooked a little.

As a part of its promised $31 billion in savings, the Coalition has pledged to:

• abolish the instant tax write-off for assets costing less than $6,000;
• abolish the up-front deduction of $5,000 for the cost of a motor vehicle; and
• scrap the company loss carry back provisions, which allows companies that make a loss in one year to offset that loss against prior year profits (rather than carrying it forward and having to wait for future year profits to offset it) - effectively giving businesses a cash injection in the form of a tax refund.

This is indicative of more pain to come, regardless of who wins the election this weekend. A change in Government will likely not be the panacea for the economy that many expect as global economic factors, more than anything else, continue to weaken the Federal Budget position. A surplus is unlikely for a number of years yet, despite the rhetoric from both sides.

You can read more of of the Coalition's costing analysis here.