The auto bailout is dead, causing the nervous markets to head south. "It's over with," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Democrats and Republicans seemed near a deal several times, but talks eventually broke down with the Republicans' insistence that automakers reach wage parity with foreign automakers by 2009. The vote failed 52-35, eight votes short of the 60 needed to break a Republican filibuster. Automakers now hope the White House will relent on its refusal to allow the Treasury to provide emergency loans from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. Both GM and Chrysler are consulting bankruptcy lawyers. The news spells a rocky day on Wall Street: domestic market futures dropped following skids in Europe and Asia.
Read it at The New York Times
