Before the $700 billion plan to bailout our floundering markets even had a chance to work the DOW was already plummeting. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come, as the bill failed in the House by a vote of 228-205, and the DOW fell 778 points by the end of the day. Today brings uncertainty, with the White House urging action from Congress, the Fed trying anything possible to shore up markets at home and abroad, and the only common theme in the blogosphere is the lack of consensus on what the future holds.
- “Even before the opening bell, Monday looked ugly. But by the time that bell sounded again on the New York Stock Exchange, seven and a half frantic hours later, $1.2 trillion had vanished from the United States stock market.” – from For Stocks, Worst Single-Day Drop in Two Decades, at DealBook
- “One of the instant myths being created about Congress’ defeat of the bailout bill is that members facing close contests this fall were forced to cast a “tough vote” and, in order to protect their electoral prospects, voted against the bill. But this is misleading and it assigns short-term, self-interested electoral calculations for the depth of the resistance. Only 30 negative votes came from members in vulnerable seats.” – from Representatives in Safe Seats, Not Vulnerable Ones, Killed the Bailout Bill, at Balkinization
- “The crisis gripping the nation’s banks took a troubling turn on Monday, The New York Times’s Eric Dash writes, as investors’ confidence in even the largest and strongest institutions spiraled lower. Financial shares plunged 16 percent on one of the darkest days for the American stock market since the 1987 crash.” – from With Wachovia Sale, the Banking Crisis Trickles Up, at DealBook
- “The new mantra from Congress is that Hank Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, is a day trader, not a banker. Mind you, he was CEO of Goldman Sachs (immediately following John Corzine, New Jersey Governor and seat belt advocate), so it’s not like he was a run of the mill day trader. He was in fact an extremely successful day trader, and became a fabulously wealthy day trader in the process. But he was still a day trader.” – from Paulson’s a Day Trader, at Simple Justice
- “Consider these passages from Forbes’ coverage of the bailout: Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, says his office has gotten “close to zero” calls in support of the $700 billion plan proposed by the administration. He doubts it’ll happen immediately either. “I don’t think it has to be a week” he says. “If we do it right, then we need to take as long as it needs.” Sherrod Brown is not what you would call a conservative Democrat and when Ohio residents (a key battleground) are not sold on the idea of a bailout, maybe it is time for Congress to really think long and hard about whether a bailout is needed and on what terms.” – from Bad News For The Bailout, at Going to the Mat
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