NEWS AT A GLANCE
The remains of the bailout
Congressional and White House leaders returned to work on an economic rescue package, after the House’s unexpected defeat of the measure sparked sharp sell-offs in U.S. and foreign markets. The House won’t vote on a new measure until Thursday at the earliest. (AP in Yahoo! Finance) News that the bailout could be revived helped Asian markets pare steep declines. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 4.1 percent, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished up 0.8 percent. (MarketWatch) Russia’s Micex Index fell a record 6.7 percent, led by oil giant OAO Gazprom, after a two-hour trading suspension. (Bloomberg) While no financial rescue plan is in place, the stretched Federal Reserve and the FDIC will do their best to keep things afloat. (Los Angeles Times)
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French-Belgian bank Dexia rescued
Dexia, a lender based in Brussels and Paris, got a $9.2 billion capital injection from federal and regional governments, in the latest public-sector intervention in Europe’s banking sector. “Things have accelerated brutally,” said analyst Christophe Ricetti at Natixis in Paris. Trading in Dexia shares was suspended after a 30 percent drop yesterday. (Bloomberg) Ireland, meanwhile, said it will insure all deposits at its six locally registered banks, to prevent a bank run after a record 12.7 percent sell-off Monday on the Irish Stock Exchange. (The New York Times) In the U.S., bankrupt Lehman Brothers sold off its profitable Neuberger Berman asset management business for $2.15 billion to buyout firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman. (Reuters)
Cheap fares, farewell flights
There’s a downside to cheap flights: When airlines cut routes, as many of them are doing these days, the low-fare destinations and starting points are the first on the chopping block. For example, Oakland International Airport—which saw a decade-long surge in traffic on the back of discount airlines—will have 28 percent fewer flights this November than it did a year earlier, and American and Continental are pulling out of the airport entirely. Between fewer flights and higher fares, “we are seeing the reverse of what people call the Southwest Effect,” said Steve Grossman, aviation director for the Port of Oakland. (The Wall Street Journal)
New food-origin rules kick in; Spam sits out
New rules kick in today that require more imported foods to list their country of origin. Meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and certain nuts will now have to say where they came from. Passed six years ago, the law takes effect amid a Chinese milk scandal and not long after the Mexican salmonella-tainted pepper problem. There are exceptions to the rule, such as for processed foods, mixed vegetables, and meat sold in butcher shops. (AP in Los Angeles Times) Spam also gets a pass. U.S. producers hope the rule, which will cost companies $2.5 billion to implement in the first year, will convince consumers to buy American. It may, or it may not. “I prefer meat from other countries, like Argentina,” says Chicago resident Stacy Corbett, 36. “It’s usually more tender.” (Bloomberg)
