Economic News - September 21, 2008

US investors will be wondering Monday morning how Friday's Treasury Department plan to bail out the financial industry from the bad paper floating around. In Asian trading so far Monday, oil prices are
relatively flat (up 0.33%). The dollar is down slightly against most Asian currencies (down 0.93% against the yen, less against others and up against a handful). Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index is up 1.4%. Overall, most markets are not up or down much. The pictures is mixed, but can best be described as "calm", a great change after the last three weeks.

Financial Roadmap: The Week Ahead September 22 to 26, 2008

For the third week running the biggest factors moving markets are
likely to be developments in the ongoing efforts by the Federal Reserve
and US Treasury to restore order to credit markets. A couple of
scheduled events that may shed some light on how foreign investors are
taking those efforts are Treasury security auctions Tuesday for 52-week
T-bills, Wednesday for 2-year Treasury Notes and Thursday for 5-Year
Treasury Notes. The shorter term bills have been benefiting from a
«flight to quality» that resulted in essentially zero yields part of
last week. The slightly longer term bills are slightly riskier and may
reflect more of the 1 to 5-year outlook for the dollar and the US
economy.

Lawmakers Battle Over Rescue Plan

Lawmakers are scrambling to put their mark on the Bush
administration's $700 billion plan to save financial markets -- a
fast-moving test of wills that could reshape one of the biggest
bailouts in U.S. history.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Become Banks, Ending an Era for Wall Street

The Wall Street that shaped the
financial world for two decades ended last night, when Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley concluded there is no future
in remaining investment banks now that investors have determined
the model is broken.

Paulson Widens $700 Billion Rescue Beyond Mortgages, Limits Fund Insurance

The Bush administration widened
the scope of its $700 billion plan to avert a financial
meltdown by including assets other than mortgage-related
securities.

Dollar May Get `Crushed' as Traders Weigh $1 Trillion Cost of Bailout Plan

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's
plan to end the rout in U.S. financial markets may derail the
dollar's three-month rally as investors weigh the costs of the
rescue.

Treasuries Prove Irresistible as Deflation Bet Outweighs Paulson's Bailout

As details of Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson's plan to revive the U.S. financial system by
pumping as much as $700 billion into the markets emerged Sept.
19, bond investor Michael Cheah was reminded of Japan.

Wall St. fallout hits Main St.

Sep. 19 - The financial crises and subsequent
government bailouts will cost businesses and families across the U.S.,
not just bankers on Wall Street.