Bailout rejection and you

The $700 billion bailout plan was rejected by congress and that crushed the Dow. Here's what that means to you.

1) All bets are off

With this bill, it was hoped that it would be easier for consumers to get loans; banks would be under less pressure We've been saying that passage of the bill would likely have injected capital into the stock market that would have been good news for 401k holders. Economists said a passage of the bill would prevent companies from shedding more jobs. Keep in mind that this probably isn't the last of this bailout bill.

2) Don't panic

We did see one of the biggest intraday drops-at one point the down was down over 700 points.
If you do have a retirement account where you have a decade or two before you need the money, you should not be pulling your money out of the market right now. Today is not the day to get conservative. The federal government has moved swiftly in standing behind money market funds and other major financial firms. That should give you a reason for confidence.

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Posted by: Gerri Willis, Personal Finance Editor
Filed under: Finance • Living • Willis