All along I thought that Federally Insured referred to customers' deposits in banks. Now it turns out that it means the banks themselves.
I'm just not sophisticated enough to understand either the present extent or the future limits of such a program... or the impact on our tax rates.Art Hogan, chief market strategist for Jefferies & Co., said the short-selling ban is a good short-term plan for helping the hard-hit finance companies pull out of their slump, while the plan for getting rid of mortgage-related assets is good for the markets on a long-term basis.
"The longer-term plan is sort of a central clearing house where [the banks and finance firms] can clear some of the bad debt that's hard to trade," said Hogan. "That's really been a drag on the market."
"Whether it's tangible or emotional, we're getting markets back up to where they should be," said Hogan.
On Thursday, stocks staged a late-session rally, with the Dow surging 410 points, as speculation about the government bailout swirled. - source
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