House Passes Pork-Laden Bailout Bill

The U.S. House reversed itself from a vote on Monday and passed the bailout bill handed to it from the Senate.

President Bush signed it into law almost immediately.

The Senate "sweetened" the bailout bill by including new tax breaks and a nice helping of pork in the form of special interest tax incentives and other goodies.

The market settled down for the day, which caught some by surprise.

However, it points out that the mood on Wall Street remains very pessimistic.

Jobless numbers and other economic indicators continue to paint a grim picture of the economy.

Had the House again defeated the bailout, the market might have gone into a free fall.

The question now is will the bailout work.