Watchers worry bailout won't unfreeze credit

The credit markets finally got a bailout bill, but the stranglehold hasn't let up - a troubling sign that lenders and investors believe the package will only be a baby step in the long road to economic recovery.

The credit markets, where companies go to get cash loans, have seized up since the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. and in anticipation of the $700 billion plan initially voted down by the House. The House passed a revised version of it Friday following the Senate's approval earlier this week, but anxiety about its effectiveness kept demand for Treasury bills high and nearly nonexistent for other types of debt.

Overall, market participants have begun regarding the rescue plan as a medicine for what's ailing the financial system, but not a cure- all.

"At best, we can hope that it stems some of the more intense risk from the credit crisis. It prevents things from spiraling out of hand here," JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli said.

On Friday, the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, for three- month dollar loans rose to 4.33 percent from 4.21 percent Thursday. That bank-to-bank lending rate has been rising all week, showing that banks are growing less and less willing to lend out their cash for longer than overnight.

HOUSTON

After plan's approval, oil prices head lower

Oil prices slipped in volatile trading Friday after Congress approved a historic $700 billion bailout of the nation's teetering financial industry as the long-term health of the global economy remained questionable.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 9 cents to settle at $93.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On Thursday, prices closed at their lowest level in two weeks, tumbling below $94 a barrel on doubts that a revamped bailout plan will be enough to avoid a protracted economic slump. Settling at $93.97 a barrel, the price was the lowest since Sept. 16.

SPRING HILL, Tenn.

General Motors starts producing Traverse

General Motors Corp. on Friday officially launched full-scale production of the its new Chevrolet Traverse at its overhauled former Saturn plant on the outskirts of Nashville.

Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said the eight-seat crossover will appeal to drivers of large SUVs and trucks seeking better fuel economy.

"This is a vehicle that's got the interior space or utility of a Chevrolet Tahoe, but a much better fuel economy and a much tighter exterior package," Clarke told reporters after a launch ceremony at the plant.