The Bad Boat Floats

Dow closing only down .17%. Not bad, considering bad economic indices (the fall in manufacturing activity), and a plunge in the value of US auto stocks.

The bailout? The operative term is "unease", investors don't know if it's going to pass or fail. I have an idea nobody cares a great deal, not like Monday. If it fails, prices will drop a little, if it passes, prices will rise a little, but I think the moment has passed where the market believes that what the congress does or does not do is what will determine the movement of the economy. An influence, yes, but not determinant.

Crude down $2.07, that's with inventories reported much higher than expected. Seems like a proportionate response.

Once more on the bailout. "Officials in both parties predicted the measure would pass the Senate by a wide margin." That's from INO, perhaps it's the presumption at NYMEX. My preference would be that it fail. Then the FDIC and Mark-to-Market changes could be immediately passed, to salvage something, and congressional leaders could get back to coming up with a more intelligent way to spend a vast amount of money. It certainly appears that won't happen.

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Note: Best article I've so far read on how we got here. May comment on it later. Should speculate too, on political fall-out. McCain certainly has taken a tremendous hit on this matter. I really don't want Barack as my next president.

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Heavens! McCain back to within four in Gallup?! Considering how retched everything is, this is clearly impossible for a Republican. It must indicate that most voters have verypowerfully already made up their minds, "come hell or high water".

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8:40
Bailout passes, about a half hour ago: 75 - 24. Not admirable. I don't know why the house can't just ignore it, or declare it null and void, since constitutionally it's the House that initiates spending bills.

(AP:NEW YORK) Wall Street is reacting cautiously to the Senate's passage of the banking bailout plan. Stock index futures, which give an indication of how trading will proceed when the market opens Thursday, are down moderately after the vote.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 48, or 0.44 percent, at 10,839.

This about 8:50. I guess this was what the hullabaloo was all about? To drive stocks down a bit?

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Honor Role:

Allard (R)
Barasso (R)
Brownback (R)
Bunning (R)
Cantwell (D)
Cochran (R)
Crapo (R)
DeMint (R)
Dole (R)
Dorgan (D)
Enzi (R)
Feingold (D)
Inhofe (R)
Johnson (D)
Landrieu (D)
Nelson (FL) (D)
Roberts (R)
Sanders (I)
Sessions (R)
Shelby (R)
Stabenow (D)
Tester (D)
Vitter (R)
Wicker (R)
Wyden (D)
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From INO, about 10:30 PM

(AP:NEW YORK) Financial markets reacted cautiously to the Senate'spassage of the banking bailout plan late Wednesday, with stock indexfutures falling and indicating a drop when trading resumed Thursday.There was no discernible change in the credit markets after the vote....

Wednesday night, Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 85, or0.78percent, at 10,802. The Standard &Poor's 500 index futureswere down9.8, or 0.84 percent, at 1,158.60, and Nasdaq 100 futures weredown 17.75,or 1.1 percent, at 1,561.00.

In Japan, the Nikkei index was down 0.99 percent.

Way to go.
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Update, about 11:30 PM.

"Asian stock markets retreated Thursday as broader concerns about a global economic slowdown outweighed any relief over the U.S. Senate's passage of the bailout package to rescue the U.S. financial system."

Yawn.
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Interesting. This bailout bill is not an unconstitutionally initiated spending bill coming out of the Senate, it's actually merely an amendment to a bill (the AMT bill: Average Minimum Tax) already originated and passed in the house, passed in the Senate, and now returned with this vast but legal amendment.

Interestingly though, the house must either pass it exactly in its present form, or appoint conferees to work out a compromise in conference. So no new goody -packed House bill....

Except, I see no reason they couldn't just ignore it entirely. I don't see why they have to vote on it if they don't want to, I don't see why they have to send it to conference. They could just write a new bailout, and send it to the Senate, and the Senate couldn't do a thing about it. And then when they do get this bill to conference they could just strike the bailout. My.