Obama Signs Stimulus Package
The Obama Stimulus Package is now official with a final cost of $787 Billion. President Obama signed it less than thirty minutes ago.
The market at first jumped with the news but has since sold right back off now nearing session lows. The S&P 500 is down over 4%, trading under the critical 800 support level.
From the AP:
President Barack Obama put his own indelible imprint on the nation’s distressed economy Tuesday, signing the huge recovery package into law, readying a $50 billion proposal to help homeowners fend off foreclosure and awaiting emergency restructuring plans from flailing automakers.
Obama said the sprawling legislation, which congressional Democrats pushed to passage last week over near-unanimous opposition from Republicans, would “set our economy on a firmer foundation.”
Obama’s first major piece of legislation, it’s a $787 billion mix of tax cuts and one of the biggest public spending programs since World War II.
“I don’t want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems. Nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn our economy around. But today does mark the beginning of the end, the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs,” Obama said.
The stimulus package was signed at Denver Museum of Nature & Science which apparently is symbolic of the future due to the solar panels on its roof and focus on the future.
Source:
Obama signing huge stimulus, readying other steps
Liz Sidoti and Tom Raum, Associated Press
Yahoo Finance, February 17th, 2009
