American markets plunged over 100 points in the opening session as Wall Street awaits US lawmakers’ voting on a modified $700-billion bailout package on Wednesday (October 1). Meanwhile, spurred by the revised bailout proposal, major Asian and European indices posted gains, with India’s 30-share Sensex jumping nearly two per cent for the second day in a row.
The US Senate is all set to vote on the modified rescue plan which has incorporated tax cuts and higher limit for insured bank deposits, after the House of Representatives defeated the financial package on Monday.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 100 points to 10,750.23 points in the early morning trade while Nasdaq Composite was trading marginally down at 2,074.20 points.
A media report quoting sources today said that components of the alternative plan include a guarantee from the US treasury of up to 100% for bank losses resulting from failed mortgage-backed securities originated prior to the plan’s enactment.
The alternative plan reportedly, also includes allowing companies to carry back losses — arising in tax years ending in 2007, 2008 or 2009 — back five years, generating a tax refund and immediate capital.
It also envisages allowing a ‘repatriation window’ for profits earned by US firms overseas. Along with proposed tax cuts for businesses, the modified bailout plan includes raising the federal deposit insurance levels to $250,000 from the current $100,000.
The proposal for increasing the deposit insurance limits has the backing of presidential candidates and many American lawmakers. The finer aspects of the Senate legislation are also looking at ways to prevent the more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from feeling the pinch of the alternative minimum tax.
According to the media report, the Republicans in their alternative plan also propose to allow banks to treat losses on shares of preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as ordinary losses, not as capital losses.
On the other hand, the Asian indices was led by India’s 30-share Sensex, which continued its bull run for the second consecutive day, jumping 1.52% . The benchmark index closed at 13,055.67 points. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also ended in positive territory.
In Europe, London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 index shot up 1.70 per cent and was trading at 4,985.89 points in the afternoon trade. Nikkei 225 went up nearly one per cent to settle at 11,368.26 points while Hang Seng index inched up 0.76 per cent to end the day at 18,016.21 points.
However, South Korea’s Kospi index and Singapore’s benchmark index Straits Times Index closed marginally in the red at 1,439.67 points and 2,358.91 points, respectively.
I took the pledge – Have you?
Well the congress has done it.
As of the morning of te bail out vote in the House of Representatives, polls showed that the American people were 74% against any bail out for the Wall Street fat cats. We wanted a fix from the bottom up and not from the top down. Fix ‘Main Street’ not Wall Street we told them. They didn’t do it.
However they did agree with the bloated $700 billion the Senate passed for their greedy Wall Street friends with another $150 Billion of Pork. So now our children are on the hook for at least $850 billion and no one can tell us if it will work or will be the last.
Meanwhile, ‘We The People’ continue to lose our jobs and homes.
Our elected representatives have chosen to ignore us, ‘We The People’ whom they swore to represent.
They think we are stupid. They think we don’t have the guts to clean house. They think ‘they know better’ than we on ‘Main Street’ do.
So…
I have taken the Pledge:
I, (LILLIAN JOHNSON), will NOT vote for any incumbent in the upcoming election regardless of party or who the opposition may be. I intend to do my part in ‘throwing the bums out’ in Washington that continue spending my money on those that have wrecked our economy rather than the people who sent them there. This is my solemn pledge.
Mail this to your Representative and Senators, to all your friends and all news media, both local and national. Email this to all the talking heads on the cable outlets, Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Alan Colmes, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and with every blog and talk show host you know of.
Urge everyone you meet to take the Pledge.
This the only way we, the American People, will ever take back our own government.
They keep telling us that the only power we have is the vote. So… For once let’s use it!!!!!
Believe me… if we turn them all out THERE WILL BE CHANGE!!!!
Do we have the guts? Do you???
If not, then you don’t have any right to complain if they continue to screw us over.