Fed's new tool: Business loan bailout

[endarkenment]

Source: CNN

CNNMoney.com - 45 minutes ago
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve announced a new program to help the battered market for short-term business loans - taking its closest step yet to lending directly to businesses.

...

The Fed will buy only top-rated commercial paper, of which there was about $1.3 trillion outstanding in August. About $100 billion of that was in the form of unsecured loans to non-financial firms, and about $600 billion was to financial firms. The other approximately $600 billion is backed by assets at the firms issuing the paper, although that is generally considered unsecured lending as well.

Much of the commercial paper outstanding at the start of the credit crisis is now coming up for renewal. As a result, fears have grown that the market could drop even more sharply without some drastic improvement in the market.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/07/news/economy/fed_commercial_paper/?postversion=2008100716

---

Our government is in the process of more or less accidentally implementing socialism.

[aquart]

1. Yet they still can't conceive of national universal healthcare.

[endarkenment]

2. indeed

There is no end of resources for billionaires. Nothing for us peasants, it all costs too much.

[Mojorabbit]

3. I doubt many

small business will get any help in this plan.

[bemildred]

4. "I keep pulling the levers, but nothing happens." nt