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Dow Down Again

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:29:00 PM EST
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Dow ends the week with another losing day.This weekend the finance chiefs for the biggest industrialized countries are meeting i Washington:

President Bush sought to reassure the American people, and by extension the markets. “My fellow citizens, we can solve this crisis, and we will,” Mr. Bush said Friday in a statement at the White House as central bankers and finance ministers from the world’s richest countries gathered for talks in Washington. The Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., is expected to give a news conference later tonight.

The bankers and ministers were meeting to discuss new measures, including the injection of government money into banks in return for ownership stakes. Mr. Bush was to meet with finance ministers from Britain, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Japan on Saturday.

Bush trying to inspire confidence? Come on.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

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    Dow Down Again | 23 comments (23 topical)

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    I saw Bush speak. Consider me reasurred. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by hairspray on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:31:22 PM EST


    I'm reassured (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by lilburro on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 06:29:57 PM EST
    Obama will win the election everytime he speaks.

    Parent
    Good news! (5.00 / 0) (#4)
    by litigatormom on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:39:25 PM EST
    It closed only 128 points down! How pathetic is it that this is actually pretty good news?

    (At 3:45, it was as high as 78 points, but then it dropped in the closing minutes of the trading day.)

    Bush meeting with G7 (5.00 / 0) (#5)
    by Jlvngstn on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:43:13 PM EST
    so after 8 years of "go it alone" and "we don't need advice from anyone" he is suddenly open to what someone else has to say?  Or is it just that he will have someone to speak with for a change?

    One thing is for sure, he won't be able to bully his way through the conference and surely not one person in that group will be looking to him for any counsel to any degree.  

    I just hope he doesn't order up some "freedom fries".......

    Bush inspires confidence (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by CST on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 05:15:19 PM EST
    Everytime I remember that he won't be president in January, it inspires confidence.

    I was about to drift off last night (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 11, 2008 at 08:18:44 AM EST
    and for probably the first time it became an emotional reality for me.  I'm almost done with this clown.  Then I got butterflies in my stomach and my heart started racing, all symptoms of what it is like to be a military spouse with that idiot running things.  I had to calm myself and tell myself that things will change gradually for the better, soldiers will not be out of stupid danger immediately.  I just can't see where anybody else on the whole planet other than Cheney and McCain could inspire so much long suffering and uncertainty among the military and their families, but I have to remember that Obama isn't going to go Peace with the military in the situations that he wants, he is going to employ techniques for creating Peace with the military in the situations he has.  In order to survive George Bush though and the current situations it seems I have a lot of repressed thoughts and certainly a lot of repressed feelings.

    Parent
    I will sleep well tonight. (none / 0) (#2)
    by scribe on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:33:22 PM EST
    So, BTD, they let you out of court and free to return to the computer, eh?

    As I made a small deposit at Wachovia (none / 0) (#3)
    by andgarden on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:38:52 PM EST
    this afternoon, I noticed a "closed for Columbus Day" sign. Of course, that's normal, but I wonder if it might give Hank the chance to introduce something big.

    Columbus Day (none / 0) (#6)
    by Steve M on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:49:23 PM EST
    is a federal holiday, but not a market holiday.  The securities exchanges will be open.

    Parent
    Interesting (none / 0) (#7)
    by andgarden on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 04:52:24 PM EST
    Seems strange that the banks would be closed but the markets open.

    Parent
    This seems to have (none / 0) (#8)
    by zvs888 on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 05:03:50 PM EST
    most of the Hillary supporters back in the fold.

    According to Newsweek 88% are backing Obama, 7% are backing McCain.  If that's true, then Obama may have this locked up thanks to the financial crisis.

    Bush Strikes Twice (none / 0) (#10)
    by CoralGables on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 05:44:15 PM EST
    He goes on TV and the Markets dive again. and then shows up in Miami where they close roads around the airport near 5pm. The traffic jams created were incredible. He creates disaster wherever he goes.

    Everyone would be better off with him in Crawford. It's a shame for Dallas that he is planning to move there.

    Paulson (none / 0) (#11)
    by themomcat on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 05:48:18 PM EST
    is giving a news conference at 1845 EST.
    OK (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by themomcat on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 05:58:06 PM EST
    I just heard his statement and it sounded like they are still not addressing the root problem, the housing crisis. He sounded as bad as Bush this AM.


    Parent
    You have to separate (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 06:36:34 PM EST
    in your mind clearly the current urgent credit freeze situation from the issue of root causes.  Understanding this is the biggest hurdle folks on the left seem to be having.  The meltdown of the financial system (and I don't mean Wall Street, I mean the commercial credit freeze) has to be stopped NOW or there won't be an economy to fix.

    Yes, root causes have to be addressed, but that will take years to do and even more years for it to filter back up through the financial system.  We haven't got years.  It's not clear to me that we even have weeks.  There isn't even time for Paulson to implement his original plan, which is why he's just announced this emergency action.

    The financial system is bleeding out and needs a tourniquet as fast as possible, preferably yesterday.  It has to be gotten under control before anything else can even be thought about clearly, never mind planned, designed and implemented.

    Parent

    Krugman Wrote About This Today (none / 0) (#18)
    by santarita on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 06:56:25 PM EST
    He knows people want him to talk about mortgage writedowns but there is an immediate threat to the world's economy.  That is what is getting his attention.

    I think Paulson is trying to avoid outright nationalization of the major banks.  He is taking baby steps perhaps in the hope that the banks will do what they should be doing - lending - if they have the threat of nationalization hanging over them.  Guaranteeing interbank lending also should take away the fear factor.  For right now it's the carrot and stick approach.

    Parent

    Yup (none / 0) (#21)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 11:07:44 PM EST
    If this all weren't so dire, it would be totally fascinating.  I hope Paulson writes a memoir sometime before I'm too dotty to make sense of it.

    Hysteria about "socialism" from the right wing notwithstanding, Paulson is knocking himself out to find a way to combine government action with market forces to deal with this, which strikes this socialist at heart living in a capitalist country as exactly the right thing to do, if it can be done.

    I just hope his health holds up.  He looks like he's perpetually on the verge of a complete panic attack.

    Parent

    Krugman on MSNBC (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by themomcat on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 06:01:54 PM EST
    says Paulson's proposal is "half hearted". It is not strong enough and if it doesn't improve in 48 hours, the crisis will most likely worsen.
    I trust Krugman, especially about the market. He saved me a lot of money.

    Parent
    I don't trust Krugman (2.00 / 0) (#22)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 11:13:16 PM EST
    He's been very slanted, IMHO, in his writing about this whole subject, and made some pretty wild errors to boot.  Bless his heart, he's a darn good lefty, but he seems to me to have had a great deal of trouble separating his ideology from the practicailities of the situation here.  And he's led many, many, many folks on the blogs wildly astray wiht his early vehement opposition to the bail-out proposal.

    I'm very glad he's finally come on board, but I don't trust his predictions of doom if it isn't done his way.

    Parent

    I feel the exact opposite way about him (4.00 / 0) (#24)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 11, 2008 at 08:08:56 AM EST
    The current bail out strategy isn't working to free up credit because doing it this way never was going to free it up with the current high risk defaulting worthlessness sitting on a lot of these bank's books.  The government is going to have to buy in if net worth certificates from the FDIC won't stabilize the banking system.  If net worth certificates from the FDIC won't cover a bank's crisis I have to ask myself if that bank ought to be saved at all.  I was on the phone with our credit union yesterday.....Pentagon Federal Credit Union......and while I was on hold they played a new commercial.  In their new commercial they tell us that they never made subprime mortgage loans and they never bought into mortgage securities with their depositors money, they go on to tell their members that the current credit crisis is not affecting them and that if you need a loan please call.

    Parent
    Solution? (none / 0) (#19)
    by mmc9431 on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 06:58:53 PM EST
    Just have the government offer 5% mortgages. The money made off of this could be used to fund healthcare. 2 problems solved at once.

    Does the market (none / 0) (#20)
    by oculus on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 07:30:01 PM EST
    react to the President's speaking?

    LAT

    Bush reassures voters. (none / 0) (#23)
    by zyx on Sat Oct 11, 2008 at 12:03:44 AM EST
    In other news, GM and Ford say bankruptcy is na ga happen.

    Dow Down Again | 23 comments (23 topical)

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