US News
Senate to vote Wednesday on rescue package (Roundup)
Oct 1, 2008, 10:10 GMT
A trader works in the S&P 500 futures pit at the CME Group\'s Chicago Board of Trade in Chicago, Illinois, USA 30 September 2008. Markets recovered some from the 778 point drop in the Dow Industrials that was blamed on the US Congress\' failure to pass a $700 billion economic relief package to bail out struggling financial institutions. EPA/TANNEN MAURY
Washington - The Democrats who control the US Senate and minority Republicans have agreed to hold a vote late Wednesday on a new version of the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan that was defeated in the lower House of Representatives.
The details were still being hammered out late Tuesday in Washington, after the deal was announced on the Senate floor. Majority leader Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, chief of the Senate Republicans, will both sign off the final version before Wednesday's expected vote.
'Senate Democrats and Republicans believe it is essential that we work quickly on this important legislation to restore confidence to our financial system and strengthen the economy,' Reid said in a statement, voicing his hope for passage on Wednesday.
The defeat of the bill on Monday in the House in a 228-205 vote was followed by a huge drop on Wall Street and stock markets worldwide.
The proposal for the federal government to buy up soured mortgage- backed securities and other 'toxic' investments, as a mechanism to restart shattered credit markets vital to the US and global economies, was first put forward two weeks ago by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Among the revisions being added to the Senate legislation were an increase in government-backed guarantees for bank deposits from 100,000 dollars to 250,000 dollars.
Monday's failure in the House, with two thirds of Republicans and two fifths of Democrats voting no, was a humiliation for the congressional leadership of both parties. The vote was also a repudiation of Paulson and his boss, President George W Bush, whose approval ratings with less than four months left in office are below 30 per cent, the lowest for a sitting president in more than 30 years.
Despite the defeat, the White House began pushing Tuesday for another attempt at passage this week. Bush again warned of the 'urgent' need for Congress to act.
'The president intends to stay here to work on this financial rescue package with members of Congress for as long as it takes to get this done,' White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, both members of the US Senate, joined the chorus for reconsideration of the proposal.
The bill had proven wildly unpopular with the public, and so many people had contacted their representatives about the proposal that steps had to be taken to restrict email to Congress to prevent servers from crashing, according to The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that most Americans believe there is a financial crisis, with about 90 per cent concerned that Monday's failure of the bill could prompt further decline. Still, just 45 per cent of 520 people surveyed supported the House version.
After Monday's drop of nearly 7 per cent in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Wall Street rebounded Tuesday on renewed hopes for a deal, with the blue-chip index regaining 4.7 per cent.
Bush noted that US shareholders lost 1 trillion dollars in Monday's decline and warned of the impact on tens of millions of people's retirement accounts and personal savings. He said that if the country 'continues on this course,' the harm will be permanent.
Bush said that the plan did not represent a choice between government intervention and the free market.
'Our country is now facing a choice between action and the real prospect of economic hardship for millions of Americans,' Bush said. 'For the financial security of every American, Congress must act.'
As the uncertainty on US markets spilled over internationally, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an emergency summit of world leaders to address the crisis, while the European Commission is on the eve of unveiling its own plans to improve the regulation of the financial sector.
The European Commission on Tuesday urged United States lawmakers to uphold their responsibilities and swiftly approve a massive rescue plan amid global financial turmoil.
'The turmoil that we are facing has originated in the US, and has become a global problem,' said commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Well researched Tonny 10/10.
The argument has inflamed US voters, who flooded their congressional representatives with phone calls and emails opposing a 700-billion-dollar bailout of greedy Wall Street investors.
It isn't just banks - there are hundreds of cases where a CEO causes a problem/loss of earnings or money with a company and is voted out/fired but then gets a golden handshake because his contract has been terminated early. Rewards for failure are as good as rewards for success.
All contracts should have a clause which stipulates a bonus is only for success and that any such bonus should be limited to a set amount
I always thought it took a special snake to be a CEO of a failed company who walks away with millions. What kind of person are they to begin with and should they have been the head of the company with those kinds of ethics?
It is a great pity the US has its present form of government. In the UK, if a Prime Minister pushed a policy (as Bush did) and it was voted down, this would result in a vote of no-confidence in the government, and an election would result.
Unfortunately the US is stuck with a system that keeps an unpopular President in place for 4 years
...one of the key strengths of our government lies in the fact that just because something is unpopular does not mean it is wrong.
Oh yeah, we also get a new leader every eight years, regardless of what anyone thinks of him.
YOU say: 'Oh yeah, we also get a new leader every eight years'
SAY WHAT???????????
If that is the case, why hold the election every 4 years?
Go hit the bong again, EssPee, you are really, really f*cked in the head.
about this: '...one of the key strengths of our government lies'
is the fact that idiots like you believe those lies. Als, if a thing is unpopular with the majority of people, then it is WRONG. After all, isn't the U.S. SUPPOSED to be a democracy?
Yes, Ian, I'm terribly impressed with all of that, until I look at the glaring history of such, in the case of pre-war Germany and the unpopularity of the jews, or our own history with the unpopularity of African Americans and then apply what is actually right with what is, or once was, popular.
No thanks Ian
...the maximum length of office for a president is 8 years. Now, run upstairs and help your mom entertain those gentlemen that she calls your step fathers.
It is a MAXIMUM of 5 years between election in the UK, but a general election can be called at ANY TIME within that. Furthermore a party in power can also ditch a Prime Minister (remember Thatcher ?).
All in all a far better control of the politicians by the will of the people than America where you're stuck with a President for 4 years minimum (unless you impeach him)
What the comments about Germany and Jews has to do with this is anyone's guess. Probably someone with a bee in their bonnet
Why do you insist on always calling everyone moron, idiot, stupid, any other disparaging word you can come up with, and constantly using the 'F' word to describe someone or something? This is a grave situation for the country, and it is certainly going to take a lot of cooperation from every corner to straighten it out, and it shouldn't be done in haste.
I'm sure there are a lot of wrong ways and right ways to get it done and those that have caused it in the first place and pointing fingers and blame back and forth, whether it be in Washington or here doesn't really make a whole hell of a lot of sense. The very wealthy aren't going to be affected one way or another, so everything needs to be accomplished with the regular working person in mind.
To: SP4Oct 1st, 2008 - 18:24:33
Why do you insist on always calling everyone moron, idiot, stupid, any other disparaging word you can come up with, and constantly using the 'F' word to describe someone or something?
sp4 - if you read my posts, I only do it to those who do it to me.
This is a grave situation for the country, and it is certainly going to take a lot of cooperation from every corner to straighten it out, and it shouldn't be done in haste.
sp4 - on the contrary, it is most effective if it IS done quickly.
I'm sure there are a lot of wrong ways and right ways to get it done and those that have caused it in the first place and pointing fingers and blame back and forth, whether it be in Washington or here doesn't really make a whole hell of a lot of sense.
sp4 - well...your right about a lot of wrong ways!
The very wealthy aren't going to be affected one way or another,
sp4 - an assumption you have no facts to support
so everything needs to be accomplished with the regular working person in mind.
sp4- a glaringly true fact i.e. the dry up of borrowable working capital is already shrinking fast and lay offs will occur if it continues.
IanOct 1st, 2008 - 18:20:20
It is a MAXIMUM of 5 years between election in the UK, but a general election can be called at ANY TIME within that.
sp4 - great Ian...
Furthermore a party in power can also ditch a Prime Minister (remember Thatcher ?).
sp4 - yes Ian, we pine for her clarity versus the current, befuddled, leader now residing at 10 Downing...or even Blair...
All in all a far better control of the politicians by the will of the people than America where you're stuck with a President for 4 years minimum (unless you impeach him)
sp4 - a fact that keeps me warm and happy, insulated from the fickled mob of the public, who bounce from one sensation to another daily.
What the comments about Germany and Jews has to do with this is anyone's guess. Probably someone with a bee in their bonnet
sp4 - it iwas a glaring commentary on your simplistic views of popularity as the final measure of what is right and wrong, Ian, and obviously over your head. If you're going to have a philosophy, try to at least develop it.
You say: '...the maximum length of office for a president is 8 years.'
The maximum term is 4 years a-hole. Yes, a president can be in office for 2 terms, not necessarily consecutive. But in your inimicable illiterate manner you stated that a president changes every 8 years. So, in conclusion, hit the bong again, boy and shut the f*ck up, moron.
You ask:
Why do you insist on always calling everyone moron, idiot, stupid, any other disparaging word you can come up with, and constantly using the 'F' word to describe someone or something?
The answer is simple. EssPee is a simpleton. He is an illiterate drug addict. He is a complete waste of skin and breath. I have scraped dog sh*t off the bottom of my shoe that has more intelligence than him. As a matter of fact, said dog sh*t is a better man than him, as well.
'sp4 - if you read my posts, I only do it to those who do it to me.'
More outright lies from the toe-tapping neocon drug addict.
insulated from the fickled mob of the public, who bounce from one sensation to another daily.
Are yes, we 'the elite' mustn't let the peasants upset our cosy world !
The national debt was about $5.7 trillion when Bush took office in January 2001. Today, after almost eight years and a couple of wars, the debt has risen to about $9.7 trillion.
And, by the way, that figure might rise another $1 trillion or so before Bush steps down on Jan. 20.
The national debt ceiling today is $10.6 trillion. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wants Congress to raise that to $11.3 trillion to clear the decks for massive borrowing to deal with the nation’s financial crisis.
A national debt of $11.3 trillion would come to more than $37,000 each for every man, woman and child in the United States.
And all this comes during an era of allegedly conservative, fiscally responsible Republican domination in Washington.
SP4 says:.one of the key strengths of our government lies in the fact that just because something is unpopular does not mean it is wrong....
.It could come out of the mouth of a besieged supporter of Kim yung Il or Stalin.
In other words ;propaganda begins where facts fail...
page: 1
tonny from belgiumOct 1st, 2008 - 11:11:40
please help those poor CEO's from the investment banks out of their misery with a blank check,no conditions,no control and no compensation needed according to Bush and Paulson (himself the former CEO of an investment bank.
Here is what some of the Ceo's of the investment banks got in bonus and salary for 2007:
* Lehman Brothers Chairman and CEO Richard Fuld Jr. made $34 million in 2007. Lehman (OTC: LEHMQ) filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection earlier this month.
* Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), which Sunday gained Federal Reserve Bank approval to become a bank holding company, paid its chairman and CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, $70 million last year. Co-Chief Operating Officers Gary Cohn and Jon Winkereid were paid $72.5 million and $71 million, respectively.
* American International Group’s chief executive, Martin Sullivan, got a $14 million compensation package in 2007. He was ousted in June. The insurance giant (NYSE:AIG) is on the receiving end of an $85 billion federal bailout. Edward Liddy took over as AIG’s chief executive earlier this month.
* Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack earned $1.6 million. Chief Financial Officer Colin Kelleher got a $21 million paycheck in 2007. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) also received approval to become a banking holding company, a shift that allows Morgan and Goldman to bring in bank deposit assets which offer more-solid financial footing.
* Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was paid $17 million in salary, bonuses and stock options in 2007. Merrill (NYSE: MER) is being acquired by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). BofA CEO Kenneth Lewis earned $25 million in 2007.
* JP Morgan Chase & Co. Chairman and CEO James Dimon earned $28 million in 2007. Chase (NYSE: JPM) acquired troubled investment house Bear Stearns earlier this year with the federal government promising to take on as much as $30 billion in Bear assets to help get the deal done.
* Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd received $11.6 million in 2007. His counterpart at Freddie Mac, Richard Syron, brought in $18 million. The federal government announced earlier this month it was taking over the mortgage backers with Herbert Allison to serve as Fannie CEO and David Moffett the new CEO at Freddie.
* Wachovia Corp. Chairman and CEO G. Kennedy Thompson received $21 million in 2007. He was succeeded by Robert Steel as CEO in July. Steel is slated to get a $1 million salary with an opportunity for a $12 million bonus, according to CEO Watch. Wachovia (NYSE: WB) is one of the banks that could be sold in the midst of the financial crisis.
* Seattle-based Washington Mutual (NYSE: WAMU) will pay its new CEO, Alan Fishman, a salary and incentive package worth more than $20 million through 2009 for taking the helm of the battered bank, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
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