Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: The Week after the Worst Week Yet

Unemployment Rises in the U.S., Factory Orders Fall, Auto Sales Hit Hard, Global Steel Industry Outlook Falters, Financial Turmoil Spreads in Europe and other bad news. "After two weeks of anguishing debate, Congress passed and President Bush signed the enormous plan to save the financial industry and prop up the economy in hopes of avoiding an unthinkable free fall with Election Day just a month away," the Associated Press reports. After the House of Representatives torpedoed a bail-out bill early last week, the House reversed course and gave final approval to a revised version of the $700 billion economic plan, called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, on Friday afternoon. President Bush signed it into law less than an hour-and-a-half later, authorizing the Treasury to undertake what could become the most... [read full story]