President Bush’s plea this morning to urge Congress to pass the $700 billion bailout was not enough to win over the approval from the House of Representatives this afternoon. The House rejected the bailout plan by a vote of 228 to 205.
The failure of the bill sent the Dow Jones Industrials Average plunging. By day’s end, the Dow lost more than 700 points, or more than 6.6%. Today was the largest drop of the Dow in history.
Many Republicans in the House voted down the plan because they view it as too costly and too risky. In the near term, there appears to be no relief for capital markets spreads, and that has dark implications for the auto finance sector.