As I type this Dow futures are down 320 points, S&P futures are down nearly 37 and Nasdaq’s futures are down 50 points. As Harry Reid said late last night: “I want everyone to understand that when we vote tonight, it’s over with. I dread, Mr. President, I dread looking at Wall St. tomorrow.”
So, Congress failed to bailout the Big Three – the Senate vote of 52-35 was eight short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. And in the post-nuclear remains of a second failed bailout vote (for anyone who doesn’t painfully remember, the Dow Jones dropped nearly 777 points after the House failed it’s first attempt at the banking bailout), President Bush, in what may be his final significant act as president, is now forced to step into the breach. Word on the Hill last night was that Bush may act as early as today to extend TARP loans to GM and Chrysler (Ford has said it doesn’t need short term loans). Here’s the latest from me about last night’s meltdown.