Monday, September 29, 2008

Failure

So… the rescue/bail-out bill failed in the House, 205-228.  From Forbes magazine:


WASHINGTON, D.C. -

In a suspenseful vote of 205-228, the House of Representatives squashed a bill granting the Treasury $700 billion to shore up the U.S. financial system. Clearing the House was seen as the bill's biggest hurdle, and now the proposed bailout is thrown into disarray.

The bill had majority support from House Democrats, at around 140-95. It was killed by staunch opposition from House Republicans, 65-133. The voting was left open for several minutes, while congressional leaders tried to get members to change nay votes, and the tallies shifted slightly but not enough to pass.

On Wall Street, market response was swift and terrible. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had been trending down throughout the morning, plunged almost 7% in minutes before recovering somewhat. Prices for Treasury bonds soared into the stratosphere, pushing the yields down. The three-month Treasury yield sank to 0.68%, while the London interbank offer rate rose to 3.88%.


Just for the record:  the Dow lost 777.68 (closing at 10,365.45), the NASDAQ 199.61 (1983.73 at the close) and the S&P Index -106.85 (1106.42).  Tomorrow will most certainly be an interesting day in the markets, indeed.


Developing, as Drudge sez.  

5 comments:

  1. And meanwhile, the rent's still due on the first...

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  2. Good for now, but you can bet this Congress with prodding from the knee jerk press, will try to fly this turkey once again. And look at the Markets....the sky hasn't fallen just yet.

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  3. I am not smart on this subject and don't know enough to make any kind of sensible statement. But I know if I lend somebody some money and they don't pay it back I lose it. If I buy a house and don't make the payments I lose that too. I invested in the house and lost my investment. I invested in the friendship of somebody and lost that too. Now how do I go about getting my neighbors to give me the money I lost?

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  4. Ash: "Yikes" may or may not be an appropriate response... we just don't know yet!

    Phlegmmy: Your response works on a number of levels, doesn't it?

    Pat: Well... the Dow has gained back about a third of yesterday's loss as I type (1130 hrs). That's something, I suppose.

    Abe: Good luck with your neighbors, LOL! My neighbors aren't that generous...

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.