No deal yet; the $700 billion bailout bill is still in Congress. Democrats are holding it up with requests that the bill include help for homeowners and smaller severance packages for Wall Street big wigs. After last week’s rally, I think they’re letting the market wind down to cheapen the bailout.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs changed their statuses from investment banks to bank holding companies. This will have them closer regulated by the Federal Reserve and reap less profit.
The Dow fell 372 points today to close at $11,015. At one point today, oil was up $25, then closed the day up $16.37 to $120.92. This was the biggest one-day gain for oil ever, and even tripped a sort of circuit-breaker halting its trade for five minutes. Analysts believe this may have been a function of shorts covering their options contracts ahead of expiration of the September contract for oil delivery.
