Obama’s bank plan falls flat on Wall Street

International markets have reacted badly to a US bank bail-out proposal worth more than a trillion euros. The Dow Jones closed 4.6 percent down last night and the downward trend was continued in Asia and Europe. It is the new President’s first major setback, with analysts saying the plan lacks detail.

Obama responded by urging traders to be realistic. “You know Wall Street I think is hoping for an easy out on this thing and there is no easy out… This is a big, difficult situation. Now I think we’ve got to keep perspective, we’re not going through the Great Depression,” he said.

There had been some good news for Obama yesterday, with the Senate finally passing his 650 billion euro stimulus package for the wider US economy. Even so, more tough talks lie ahead to reconcile the Senate version with that of the lower house of Congress.

Copyright © 2009 euronews

tags: Barack Obama, Dow Jones, USA