Economic Plan Revealed, Stocks Tank

Fear itself.

US stocks fell sharply Tuesday, led by banks, as details of the government’s latest bank bailout plan trickled out.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 70 points, then lost another 100 in a matter of minutes -- before even any official government announcement.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geither will reveal the proposals to help banks at 11 am New York time, after a one-day delay. CNBC will interview Geithner after his speech, at noon. Then he's on to Capitol Hill, where he will testify before a House panel.

Some market watchers remain skeptical over the benefits of the plan and legendary investor Jim Rogers told CNBC it could even make things worse. The bailout will plunge the US further into debt and it is designed by the same people who failed to forecast the crisis in the first place, Rogers said.

Heh. A reminder from JackStraw about Geithner:

Remember, this is the indispensable genius we just had to have running Treasury despite the fact he isn't smart enough to pay his taxes.

Update - Behold the power of the Geithner.

LONDON (AP) - European and U.S. stock markets sagged Tuesday as the Obama administration outlined a new bank rescue that could mobilize in excess of $1 trillion in public and private support to get frozen credit markets working again.

After opening modestly higher, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 315 points, or 3.5 percent, to 7,995.94, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 34.72 points, or 4 percent, to 835.17.

European shares widened their losses late in the day, closing lower as U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was speaking about the rescue plans.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 94.53 points, or 2.2 percent, to 4,213.08, while Germany's DAX was down 161.28 points, or 3.5 percent, to 4,505.54. The CAC-40 index in France fell 114.12 points, or 3.6 percent, lower at 3,020.75.

posted by Slublog at 11:18 AM

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