Stocks rose Wednesday morning even as a bail-out deal for the automakers is facing possible opposition in the senate from Republicans and even some Democrats. Democrat Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Finance Committee, said he will oppose the legislation.
“It will pass the House, the questions is will Senate Republicans block this,” said Representative Earl Pomeroy, a North Carolina Democrat.
Meredith Whitney remains bearish about the economy, and her outlook for the banks that "lubricate the economy" is grim.
"The big banks are going to be on life support for at least 18 months, if not 36 months," Oppenheimer's executive director of equity research told CNBC Wednesday morning. "The big banks will not fail, but the big banks will not grow, in my opinion, for at least another two years."
She echoed other analysts who see the funds from the TARP program being used to fill holes, and do nothing to stimulate the economy. "You've had massive asset deflation," she said. "There's more of this to come."
In recent trade, the DOW was moving higher by 0.88%. The S&P 500 was up 1.23% and the NASDAQ 1.23%. The dollar was trading in risk-acceptance mode, with a 0.69% loss against the euro and a 0.71% fall against the pound. The greenback was also trading 0.85% higher against the yen.