Economic Update - Bailout Bill Goes to Senate
A quick update on economic events since Tuesday ...The stock market rose on Tuesday on news that the work on the revised $700 billion financial market bailout bill looked promising. This was one day after the biggest point drop in its history. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 485 points, or more than 4.5 percent. It was third-biggest point gain in the Dow's history and the biggest percentage climb in the Dow in six years. In direct contrast, Toronto's stock market closed on Tuesday with its worst-ever point drop -- almost 850 points or 7.5 per cent of its value.
World credit markets remain tight, and a key rate that banks charge to lend to one another shot higher Tuesday. The rise in the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, underscores the anxiety slowing the world's financial gears.
On Wednesday a revised bailout plan looked to be headed for a Senate vote. Earlier on Tuesday Senate leaders added tax breaks for businesses and the middle class and increased the FDIC's deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000. President Bush planned to call lawmakers to garner support ahead to the crucial evening vote in Senate.
