In a shock to Wall Street, by a vote of 228 against and 205 for, the House just failed to approve the latest version of the $700 billion bailout bill. Why? Not enough Republicans backed it -- only 65 Republicans ended up voting for; they were running 2-to-1 against Democrats. Why not? Angry communications from their constituents saying they did not like it and a philosophical bent against bailouts. With the election weeks away, is this the Republicans last stand?

Who knows? But the outcome of the vote means that it's back to the drawing board for the bailout bill. Count me among those who believe that a better bill is possible -- that is, a bill that actually defines the problem(s) we face and offers a truly workable solution. I've posted about such a plan here.

Meanwhile, the Fed has injected $630 billion into global markets in the wake of the cratering of three financial institutions (FIs) in Europe. These include Belgian/Dutch insurer Fortis which received a $16 billion government capital injection; the nationalization of British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley and $50 billion worth of guarantees for Hypo Real Estate Holding. And the Fed is adding $330 billion to its $290 billion currency swap program with global banks and $300 billion to its $150 billion Term Auction Facility (TAF) emergency loan program.

Continue reading Republicans sink bailout bill, Dow down 500

Republicans sink bailout bill, Dow down 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.