Waiting for the denouement

If some financial package passes the Senate tonight and then can gain the acquiescense of the House by the end of the week there will be relief but not too much benefit at this point. The benefit will be some attempt at stability in the near term. Any move now by the U.S. is too late to reassure the European financial system which is in its own meltdown phase now and too late to prevent the erosion in confidence from spreading beyond the U.S. financial system into the industrial economy. Congress passed on their chance to show leadership, and now can just show some savvy janitorial services to keep the pipes flowing.