Top U.S. policy makers emerged from hours of tense negotiations with a clear message just after midnight Sunday morning: A deal to bailout U.S. financial markets has been agreed on and all that remains to be done is to commit the legislation to paper. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.), were flanked by key negotiators in the Capitol as they announced that a $700 billion plan to have Treasury buy up toxic assets had been all but finalized after hours of exhausting negotiations.
"I think we’re there," an exhausted Mr. Paulson said, a sentiment echoed in the statements of negotiators such as House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) and Senate Banking Committee head Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) Those present said the bailout plan still needs to be drafted in its final form, but a formal announcement should come some time Sunday. The plan is likely to include limits on executive compensation for some firms, as well as give the government some authority to take equity stakes in firms that sell soured assets to the U.S. government.
Late Saturday, the idea of charging large financial firms fees to set up an industry-funded rescue insurance fund had gained momentum as key House and Senate negotiators met to iron out the final details of a $700 billion rescue package for Wall Street.
Lawmakers and staff had reconvened to meet around 7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday in the offices of Sen. Pelosi, hopeful they could broker a deal on the much anticipated but exceedingly difficult-to-negotiate legislation that would have the federal government buy up billions of dollars of soured assets…
You might not feel like opening the champagne with the economic news, I would keep it handy. Today as you have probably seen on the front page of the Sunday NYTimes is a story about McCain and gambling. It isn’t just about his gambling but about his supposedly using his chairmanship of the Indian Affairs committee not just to rout and punish the bad guy(Jack Abramoff) but to get rid of the competition for his lobbyist friends. This is one of those deals where McCain does more for his friends than just being a super hero to the Indians and their casinos. The Times gives us pages and they are probably space constrained or they would give us even more stuff to examine. The other reason for the bubbly is a piece that Joe Trippi writes about Obama possible winning over McCain big time in electoral votes. Trippi is in the huffington post today. Let’s hope the reporters be nice to McCain because he was a POW grace period has run out for the sake of the country and the world. …Kirstof’s op-ed in todays NYTimes is a doozy too!
You might not feel like opening the champagne with the economic news, I would keep it handy. Today as you have probably seen on the front page of the Sunday NYTimes is a story about McCain and gambling. It isn’t just about his gambling but about his supposedly using his chairmanship of the Indian Affairs committee not just to rout and punish the bad guy(Jack Abramoff) but to get rid of the competition for his lobbyist friends. This is one of those deals where McCain does more for his friends than just being a super hero to the Indians and their casinos. The Times gives us pages and they are probably space constrained or they would give us even more stuff to examine. The other reason for the bubbly is a piece that Joe Trippi writes about Obama possible winning over McCain big time in electoral votes. Trippi is in the huffington post today. Let’s hope the reporters be nice to McCain because he was a POW grace period has run out for the sake of the country and the world. Sorry to take so much space but Kirstof’s op-ed in todays NYTimes is a doozy too!