Economic News - September 30, 2008

Overnight markets around the world were fairly volatile in the wake of Monday's D.C. drama. (As of 4:40 AM Eastern) Oil fell another $2 after falling $10.52 Monday and commodities were down generally. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were at 10,706.00, 232.00 points above the DJIA Monday close in New York. The dollar was mixed, but up over half a percent compared to the yen, up against the Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand dollars, up nearly a half percent against th euro and up slightly against the pound sterling. The Japanese stock market was down over 4% and the German DAX index was down nearly 1%, but the London FTSE 100 opened up 0.55%.

Personal Income and Outlays - August 2008

• Personal Income: Up $61.5 billion


• Real Disposable Personal Income: Down 0.8%

Vote Deals Economy Another Blow

Lawmakers' failure to pass the Treasury's bailout plan
Monday could further weaken an economy already hurt by a crisis of
credit and confidence.

Fed, Treasury Left With Familiar Arsenal

With the House's rejection of the bailout plan, the Fed and
Treasury are stuck for now with tools that have been ineffective at
stemming the financial crisis -- or that could provoke battles with
Congress.

Central Banks Step Up Action

Central banks added $330 billion dollars to the funds they
can pump in into money markets as more financial institutions ran into
trouble in Europe and the U.S.

Fed May Need to Dip Further Into Toolbox as Congress Tries to Revive Bill The Federal Reserve may need to
consider dipping further into its toolbox as Congress tries to
revive legislation aimed at rescuing banks.

U.S. Heading for Deeper Economic Slump, With or Without Paulson's Bailout The U.S. may face its longest
recession in a quarter century no matter what action Congress
takes on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion plan
to rescue the battered banking industry.

German Unemployment Drops as Companies Hire to Work Off Backlog of Orders German unemployment fell more than
economists forecast in September as machine makers hired people to
work off an order backlog.

Germany, U.K. May Swallow Criticism, Adopt Paulson-Style Bailout Package European politicians are
discovering what cometh after pride.

U.S. Consumer Confidence Probably Fell as Credit Shrank, Stocks Plummeted U.S. consumers grew more pessimistic
in September for the first time in three months as the credit
crisis intensified, stocks plunged, firings accelerated and
housing fell deeper into a recession, economists said before
reports today.

Japan Aug housing starts +53.6 pct yr/yr--govt

TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Housing starts in Japan, hit by a
regulatory change last year, rose 53.6 percent in August from a
year earlier, above a median market forecast of a 49.5 percent
increase, government data showed on Tuesday.

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