Stocks fall after Bush announces plan

Stocks fall after Bush announces plan - Yahoo! News

By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer 14 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Wall Street turned lower Friday as skittish investors, unable to hold on to much optimism about the economy, drew little comfort from President Bush's economic stimulus plan

Investors had already pulled back from a big early gain, with the major indexes trading mixed as Bush began to speak. By the time the president finished announcing a plan for about $145 billion worth of tax relief, the indexes were well into negative territory.

"It's disappointed in the size of the economic growth package. Wall Street's showing its displeasure," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. "Honestly, I think the institutional investors understand the limits to the government's ability to enact economic change."

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Translation: Wall Street doesn't really care whether the average consumer gets a tax rebate or not. They care about profiting from consumer debt, foreclosures, and foreign investment.

On a related note:

Should Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozillo give his $100 million severance to subprime mortgage victims?

Obama's Ronald Reagan Moment?

Huh?

I'm not going to pretend that I understand Senator Barack Obama's reference to Ronald Reagan. After all, Republicans often make references to Franklin Roosevelt. But I have to agree that Ronald Reagan did indeed " change the trajectory of America".

It was Ronald Reagan who began the efforts to bust the unions when he fired the air traffic controllers in 1981?

It was Ronald Reagan who gave us "Reaganomics", "trickle down" theory and advocated a "star wars" strategic defense program?

It was Ronald Reagan who confirmed that if you call a nation "evil" it goes a long way towards gaining the support of the American people. And you thought that the Bush/Rove gang's "axis of evil" was novel.

Of course, Ronald Reagan had a stunning civil rights record, he launched his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi and remember the Bob Jones University case?

You really can't blame Reagan for that Iran/Contra business because he really didn't know, did he?

So yes, Ronald Reagan certainly changed the course of America.

But more than Bill Clinton?

Do you remember Middle East Peace Talks, a balanced budget, the GOP's creative uses of the office of the special prosecutor. and NAFTA?

Oh well, as I said, I'm not going to try to pretend I know what was going on in the Senator's mind. I'm going to just chalk it up to a well intentioned comment that came out really badly.