The new Wall Street reform bill is not quite ready for prime time yet but as it works its way through Congress the bill is receiving revisions that seemed to be improving the moods of investors on Friday. The bill includes changes to investment vehicle rating procedures, bank investment policies, executive pay and more. Unfortunately, modification of the bill wasn’t enough to spark a committed rally and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 4.99 points to close at 10,147.81. The Nasdaq managed to stage a small rally and closed up 6.06 points at 2,223.48 as did the S&P closing up 3.07 points at 1,076.76.
One of the more interesting sections of the new Wall Street reform bill is the section for mortgage help to those homeowners who have good credit but are currently unemployed. The bill calls for low interest loans to be made available to them in order to help prevent another wave of foreclosures in an already depressed housing market.
European and Asian markets all fell on Friday, likely a result of anticipation about the results of the G-20 meeting this weekend where the European economic crisis and Greek debt woes are sure to be a big topic.
