How’s this sound, folks?  For a while, at least, we’ll just stop with these weekly articles and put up a graphic of a mushroom cloud.  Because that’s pretty much what the economy looks like at the moment, and it would save a lot of time on both the writing and reading sides.

Okay, okay, let the writing and reading continue.  But here’s today’s big news: following a close vote, the House rejected a proposed bailout package.  Supporters are supposed to bring another version for consideration later this week, yet in the meantime, we’re back to the mushroom cloud concept.

The Dow closed down 777.68 points, which equates to a one-day loss of 6.98 percent.  The Nasdaq fared even worse, losing 199.61 points, or 9.14 percent of its value.  So never mind going up ten percent in a decent year; it dropped almost that much in about seven hours.  Stocks have been hitting 52-week lows left and right, and not a few companies are closer to five-year records.

Finally, if you want someone to blame or thank, depending on which side of the bailout fence you sit, both Democrats and Republicans are responsible.  Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn write, “The vote against the measure was 228 to 205, with 133 Republicans joining 95 Democrats in opposition.  The bill was backed by 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans.”

Assuming we’re not all out standing in bread lines, see you next week.