Bailout Bill Passes

Filed under: News

By a vote of 263 to 171, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the reworked $700 billion Wall Street bailout. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has this:

The 450-page legislation gives the government the unprecedented authority to buy troubled assets from financial institutions caught on the wrong side of record home foreclosures. It contains provisions favored by House Republicans, including $149 billion in tax breaks, a higher limit on federal bank-deposit insurance and changes in securities law. It also restates securities regulators' authority to suspend asset-valuing rules that corporate executives blame for fueling the crisis. The Senate approved the bill Wednesday 74-25.

The news comes as financial types have begun to turn their attention to Europe, where five banks have needed rescuing the past week. "The international financial market crisis remains acute and the global economic outlook is deteriorating," the currency team at Brown Brothers Harriman wrote yesterday. The dour tone marked a big turn from earlier in week. More from those guys on today's podcast.

Laura Conaway

1:41 PM ET | 10- 3-2008 | permalink

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