Top 10 News Items 1/9-1/13: Geithner Unveils Financial Rescue Plan; Big Bank Execs BBQ'ed on Capitol Hill; Stimulus Package Close to Final Approval Feb 13, 2009 04:12PM

Here is a recap of the top ten news items from this week on Wall Street:

1. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner unveiled his highly anticipated financial rescue plan this week on Tuesday. Geithner detailed three parts of the plan: 1. banks will go through a stress test which will evaluate the strength of their balance sheet, 2. a public-private investment fund which will help leverage private capital to help get private markets working again, and 3. the TALF program will be expanded to $1 trillion. Geithner also said the Treasury will also launch a comprehensive housing program, with details coming in the next few weeks. The market reaction: Sell! Sell! Sell! The S&P 500 dropped by nearly 5% on the announcement Tuesday. (Click here to see the full write-up on Geithner's plan so far.)

2. Regulators made a mockery of Wall ...


Top 10 News Items 2/2-2/6: Geithner to Release Bailout Plan Monday; Unemployment Rate Jumps to 7.6%; BofA Reverses on Insider Buys Feb 6, 2009 04:32PM

Here is a recap of the top news of the week on Wall Street:

1. Following weeks of speculation on what the next bank bailout package will offer, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is expected to unveil his bailout plan on Monday, February 9. Following the spotty success of the bailouts from predecessor Henry Paulson, the market is hoping Geithner's plan will help restore liquidity and confidence in the financial system. After initially starting off this week lower, stocks rallied in anticipation of the plan.

2. Non-farm payrolls for the month of January came in at 598,000, which was slightly higher than the Street's estimate of 540,000. The unemployment rate rose to 7.6%, yet the markets rallied as these numbers, while definitely very scary, were not catastrophically bad as many analysts were expecting.

3. With a ...


David Moenning's Daily State of the Markets: 2/3 Feb 3, 2009 10:32AM

Better Late Than Never

Although there were most certainly other stories worthy of mention yesterday, from where I sit at least, the game is still all about what’s going on in Washington. First, there’s the political fun and games over the not-so stimulative stimulus bill as Congress seems to be getting back into the swing of the game of partisan politics. And then there’s the main event – the “we’ll talk about it next week” solution to the credit crisis that may or may not, but probably will, include a “bad bank” solution.

To be sure, we got some interesting economic data yesterday, with some of it actually winding up on the positive side of the ledger. And as always, the earnings parade was fun to watch. Then, the fact that tech stocks simply went the other way during the Dow’s early morning dive is definitely worth noting. But, make ...


Top 10 News Items 1/26-1/30: 'Bad Bank' Plan Boosts Stocks, But Gains Reversed on Reports of a Snag; $819 Stimulus Package Passed; Pfizer Confirms Wyeth Bid Jan 30, 2009 04:09PM

This is a recap of the top news items for the week on Wall Street:

1. Stocks rose on Tuesday and Wednesday following reports that the Obama administration was rumored to be planning a "bad bank" initiative which would essentially move toxic assets off struggling banks balance sheets. The move would promote lending at these banks and address mark-to-market "issues". The rally started in the financial group, but buyers quickly came into every sector of the equity markets. On Friday, CNBC's Charlie Gasparino reported that his sources are now indicating that the plan has caught a snag and will likely be put on hold, sending the markets to lower levels than ...