Stocks Mixed On Bailout Clash

Dow Up 121 Points, Tech Stocks Slide As Investors Stay Cautious Amid Bailout Plan Wrangling

(AP)  Financial markets remained tense Friday after the Bush administration's proposal for a $700 billion banking bailout ran into opposition from Republican lawmakers. Stocks ended mixed, with big financial companies lifting the Dow Jones industrials more than 120 points, but worries about smaller banks and parts of the technology sector taking much of the market lower.

Demand for safe-haven buying in government debt remained high as investors uneasily watched events in Washington, where the Bush administration tried to overcome Republican objections to its rescue package.

GOP lawmakers are concerned about the cost of the proposal, and they balked at the plan after congressional leaders said Thursday they had reached an agreement in principle. Shortly after Friday's opening bell on Wall Street, President Bush said at the White House lawmakers can express doubts but ultimately should "rise to the occasion" and approve a plan to stave off what he sees as an economic calamity.

The rescue is designed to remove billions of dollars of bad mortgages and other now-toxic assets from the books of financial firms in a bid to free up lending. Tight lending conditions make it harder and more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money, a headwind for the economy. In a last-minute shake up, some Republican lawmakers wanted an alternative plan under which the government would provide insurance to companies that agree to hold frozen assets, rather than have the U.S. purchase the assets.

Volume was relatively light Friday as many investors chose to just wait. That helped skew some of the movements in the major indexes.

"I think the markets are on pause trying to figure out where this is going to go. Congress is still there," said Mark Coffelt, portfolio manager at Empiric Funds in Austin, Texas. "Right now everyone is a little bit shellshocked."

With no deal in place as trading ended Friday, investors were certainly going to be on edge throughout the weekend. And there was no way to predict whether Monday morning would bring a calmer market after weeks of intense volatility, or whether the turbulence would accelerate.

Credit markets remained strained, though they showed improvement. The yield on the 3-month Treasury bill, considered the safest short-term investment, rose to 0.84 percent from 0.72 percent late Thursday. The lower the yield on a T-bill, the more desperation there is in the market; investors are at times willing to take the slimmest returns to preserve their principal. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.85 percent from 3.84 percent late Thursday.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 121.07, or 1.10 percent, to 11,143.13. Gains by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. gave support to the 30-stock index. Most of their advance came late in the session as investors placed bets that a deal would emerge from Washington over the weekend.

Broader indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.09, or 0.34 percent, to 1,213.27, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 3.23, or 0.15 percent, to 2,183.34.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.17 billion shares.

[nicholasma]

NO! No bailout, I never got the chance to own a 500,000.00 house and *** my way to that kind of loan!

Please tell me... 700 b in bad loans this years means what ??? in 4 years their still bad loans !! let then eat there loans. Dot tell me to eat cake!

[nicholasma]

No Bail out !!!!!!!!
We have no voice !!!!!
If you bail wall street out then who needs the law
you would not bail out the farmers just scum on wall street

[praiseallah1]

Don''t Let Bush bailout Wall Street with $700 Billion in Tax Payer money!

Email your States Senators, Congressperson, House Representatives and DEMAND that they vote NO on any Bailout because this money will just be used to pay off Wall Streets debt that they created themselves through their own greed by marketing bundled bad mortgage loans!

We have also sent sorning emails to George Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, McCain, Obama saying we will vote them OUT of Office.

Watch this video which show which lawmakers are responsible for the sub-prime mortgage mess at http://wallstreetmarketnews.blogspot.com/2008/09/who-is-to-blame-for-wall-streets-700.html

[staplesla]

contact your congressmen. You can email them or place a quick phone call here - www.house.gov/writerep


Here are the numbers for the leaders pushing the bailout. Call and leave a message and tell them to vote NO!
John Boehner - [phone],
Roy Blunt - [phone],
Mitch McConnell - [phone],
Judd Gregg - [phone],
John Thune - [phone],
Max Baucus - [phone],
Chris Dodd - [phone],
Nancy Pelosi - [phone],
Harry Reed - [phone],
Barney Frank - [phone]

Email McCain as well and tell him No - [e-mail]

[jtdev1]

Now we have the stock market with it''s EXPECTATION that we tax payers HAVE TO bail them out...

This just amazes me...

STOCKS ARE A RISK!

[tbuckl]

I want to vote to the person who will follow this GREAT American idea and concept and return my America to me and my fellow citizens forthwith..."We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles & organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness." Thomas Jefferson

[pensacola98]

Stocks typically climb on Fridays when paychecks post deposits into 401K accounts. Many brokers were caught in the 90''s devaluing the stocks on Thursdays, to keep the stocks from climbing so high.

[pollroller1]

Well, I said it before and I will say it again. The two parties will put this bailout deal together just as soon as they get through adding all of the pork and earmarks. You know, you can put lipstick on an earmark, but it''s still pork.

[beehive21-2009]

No Bailout,Never do anything in a hurry,especially ***,they are trying to rob you and your fellow Americans.Let the Corporations of USA and Foreign ,the 75 % paying zero taxes pay.A 20 % tax across the the field would not only level the playing field,it would be fair.Is America fair to its people ? we shall see, if not prepare to kick some but.

[truthislife1]

I commend all of you who reject and make fun of God. You are better off than the "hypocrite Chistian" who uses a message of "love" to indulge his flesh.

[peace011]

Well, pls stop complaining, Republicans and/or Democrats. They all took profits for it and now it is time for payback. Fraud Mortgage loans with fraudulent income information created by lots of Real Estate brokers, agents, loan officers, all of them share the profits in commission deals. Causing a big mess in Mortgages. And now, guess what, the American taxpayers must suffer for it. Millions of people lose their houses, their savings, unemployment hit an unbelievable number in history, and the politicians are pointing finger to each other. Honestly, we do not really know who my family is believe now??? Do you? Stimulus package does not help at all?, now bail out $800 Billion dollars, what is next???...Dear Americans wake up and see what is really happen now. We spend billion of dollars per month to support 2 stupid wars for no reasons. A wrong move in a chess board game, we are down forever and this is what happy right now for all of us. The only thing to save our Country is to reunite, being a vegetarian, pray to Gods, save our planet, cut down on toxic waste, focus more on global warming problem. We are all being cheated by the real estates agents, brokers, loan officers, just learn a lesson, and move on in life not to fall into their traps again. Good Luck America

[ocasanas]

We Americans don''t have the answer. Let''s ask Hugo Chavez for advice. Should we make oil companies public? Banks government-owned? Hugo Chavez should join the democrats and republicans, and together with his excellence Dubbleyou fix this mess.

[random_radar]

Wait a minute...

The Republicans are opposing der fuhrer and the Democrats are supporting him on the bailout?

Don''t people say that Republicans are in favor of the rich and Democrats champion the poor? How come the Republicans want to let the bankers go broke and the Democrats want to bail them out?

How come Bush has the Democrats in his corner? Something is fishy here.

[inventagod2]

The Bu$h crew appearing in Washington to bully America into garnering more profits for those who have r@ped the country since the financial institutions were allowed to deregulate.

Shame on the crooks who are called bankers.

And DOUBLE shame on the crooks in the administration who tried to use fear again to extort $700 billion from US this week!

[pollroller1]

All gods must come to the whor.e house to help bailing out the super rich...:

guests include:

Jesus
Alla
Buhda
Mohamed ali
who else??

one moment, ...Jesus is busy with Sarah in the office now.

Posted by lambor69 at 04:23 PM : Sep 26, 2008
----------------------------------------------------
Well there is Jehovah and lets not forget the great Monkey God.

[mcv57]

LoL, Cramer, of MAD Money, is wigging-out. Get your shorts, Cramer. I say let''s throwing some of these CEO fat cats in jail with their corrupt government officials. PUBLIC EXTORTION IS A CRIME!!! The first to go jail is that malfunction administration they call the White House.

So what if the Big Four Banks take over ... what would change ... the Big Five Oil Companys'' CEO? Let''s start to restructure this U.S. Commerce that these animals have literately mocked the U.S. Constitution.

REFORM MUST HAVE RESTRUCTURE FROM THE FOUNDATION!!! ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST MASTURBATION OF THE LAW, ECONOMY AND DECEPTION OF WASHINGTON.

[pollroller1]

As soon as they get through adding all of the pork and ear marks to this bailout, a deal will be reached.
How do I know this? Well I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. LOL