From NPR News in Washington, I’m Jack Speer.
On a day that House lawmakers handed the White House a major defeat shooting down the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan. Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd remains confident some kind of bill will pass. Senate Banking Committee chairman said while it may take more time he believes the respective sides will come to some kind of accord.
My hope is that people will think about this over the next day and half and in the next day or so it’s gonna be impossible to act we can certainly work. And then our intention is to do that to listen to people and then hopefully comeback of Wednesday and get a different result from the one we had today.
Dodd said up to some kind of a financial rescue plan, it will not just big banks and financial firms, but small businesses across the nation that will suffer as they are unable to obtain credit. House lawmakers today defeated the bill how to prop up the nation’s financial system by a vote of 228 to 205. Both President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson express disappointment with the vote.
Not surprisingly reaction on Wall Street was quick in coming. The market once award the House vote lead-out went in a freefall today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its biggest single day point drop on record. The other major stock market indexes were also sharply lower with some investors fleeing into the safety of treasuries. But while the drop was dramatic, Sam Stovall, economist Standard and Poor’s said there have actually been more difficult days of the markets.
While it might feel like October 19th of 1987, we would actually have to a fall on more than 2,400 points to equal the 22% one day decline that we experienced more than 20 years ago.
Financial markets had widely been anticipating passage of the plan which among other things would have permitted the Treasury to buy up bad mortgage debt from struggling banks.
On Wall Street, the Dow fell 777 points a plunge of nearly 7%. The NASDAQ lost almost 200 points today.
The Justice Department inspector general has issued a scathing report on the mass firing of US attorneys two years ago. NPR’S Nina Totenberg has more.
The report concludes a former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and virtually all of its high command at the Justice Department abdicated their responsibility in the unprecedented firing of nine federal prosecutors for political purposes. The report concludes that Gonzales and others misled Congress and federal investigators, but Inspector General Glenn said that without the power to convene the Grand Jury, he could not say whether criminal charges are warranted. Moreover, he said that the top White House aides like Karl Rove refused to answer questions and that the White House itself refused to provide key documents. That prompted this response from Democratic senator Sheldon, White House.
There is a cover-up, and it continues.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey today appointed a federal prosecutor to continue the investigation, but questions remain about whether she will succeed in getting any more information. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.
Crude oil futures fell $10.52 a barrel today.
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NASA has announced that it will postpone its scheduled mission of the space traveler Atlantis to the Hubble Space Telescope until next year. That is due to an unexpected breakdown of the telescope. Atlantis with the crew of seven astronauts was scheduled to lift off in two weeks on a mission to upgrade the telescope. Over on Saturday Hubble stopped sending science data. Now NASA says left to regroup and perhaps consider sending up a replacement part which could require additional training for the astronauts as on top of almost two years of training that they have already undergone to make serious upgrades to the 18-year-old space telescope.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi today hailed a release of 19 people including five Italian tourists who had been kidnapped in Egypt. The Berlusconi advised tying the distinct to safer vacations bounced at home. NPR’S Sylvia Poggioli has more.
Egyptian officials announced that eleven European tourists and eight Egyptians were released unharmed, but half their kidnappers were killed. Ten days ago, kidnappers had seized five Germans, five Italians, one Romanian and eight Egyptians from a desert safari near the Egypt’s borders with Sudan and Libya, and demanded a multimillion-dollar ransom. Official says no ransom was paid. Sources said Egyptian forces and the kidnappers are down. The Egyptian Defense Minister said half the kidnappers have been liquidated without giving future details. Italian Foreign Minister Franckle Frandine said Italian Special Forces took part in the operation. In Rome Prime Minister Berlusconi said there are many beautiful sights in Italy that are perhaps preferable to seeking pass where there is a high level risk. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.
Again the reaction to failure of the house financial bail out bill, bail out the house market plunged 777points.
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