Author: Melissa Harmon, Senior Producer

Outside of the financials... stocks were surprisingly strong today. Last night as news was unfolding about JPMorgan's purchase of Bear Stearns at $2.00 a share and the Federal Reserve's emergency cut in the discount rate... I found myself thinking... you better get to bed early, 'cause it's going to be a long day on Wall Street. I wasn't far off, but I was certainly surprised to see the damage contained to the financials, especially when everything I'm reading calls the current credit environment "unprecedented."

We'll have three takes on the story tonight... first, Suzanne Pratt with what the deal means for JPMorgan and Bear. Second, Erika Miller looks at who could be the proverbial next shoe to drop among the financials. Third, Darren Gersh looks at the Fed's role and the tools it has left in its box to help solve the credit crisis.

And, NBR's Susie Gharib will also talk one on one with banking analyst Dick Bove of Punk, Zeigel & Co. He has been perhaps the most vocal of the analysts covering the banking and brokerage sector, and tonight his take on this crisis is no less alarming.

It's a very exciting day in the NBR newsroom with lots of preparations underway to bring you Susie Gharib's interview with President George W. Bush. The President addressed the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce today, and urged Congress to take up work on a free trade agreement with Columbia as soon as lawmakers return from their Easter recess. After that speech, the President sat down with Susie at the White House. Their conversation covered a variety of topics including international trade, the dollar, the U.S. economy and soaring oil prices.

In other news...

What a day on Wall Street with many focusing not on the lousy stock market, but instead on the unfolding prostitution scandal involving New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer made his name serving as New York's Attorney General. In that role he was an anti-corruption crusader bent on forcing Wall Street to clean up its act. He played a key role in the ouster of Dick Grasso from the New York Stock Exchange. Today, he made no reference to the prostitution scandal, saying only it was a private matter and that he'd failed to live up to his own standards. The Governor gave no sign he had any intention of stepping down. The New York Times quotes a federal law enforcement official as saying Spitzer is "client number nine" captured on federal wiretap tapes arranging a meeting with a high priced call girl on a visit to Washington, D.C. last month.

In other news...

How do you pick the best quotes from 14-1/2 minutes of good stuff? That's the task I faced today, after Susie Gharib interviewed Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Susie and Fisher covered a lot of ground from inflation to stagflation to how much is enough when it comes to rate cuts? In the end we decided to accommodate as much of the interview as possible by pushing off some of our regular features, like the commentary that usually ends the program.

That said we were still only able to bring you about 7-1/2 minutes of the Fisher interview. So if you like what you see tonight, please check out the streaming video of the full interview on our website. You can also read the complete transcript here.

Changing their religion... that's how NBR's tech expert Scott Gurvey describes Microsoft's plan to incresase the openness of its products. The move allows third party developers to create new applications that work with Microsoft's products. Scott's story leads tonight's program.

We're also talking tax rebates with our tax guru Kevin McCormally. He's the Editorial Director at Kiplinger's Personal Finance. We've received lots of email asking for the "truth" about the rebate checks, with some viewers insisting that they're just an advance on next year's tax refunds. Join us as Kevin takes on the role of myth buster. We also begin Lucy Craft's two-part series "Taiwan Tech" with a look at Asustek a Taiwan-based maker of high-tech low-cost laptops.

Lots of odds and ends in the news today, as we wrap up a rocky week on Wall Street. Just hours after losing its triple A credit rating from Moody's, bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance or FGIC asked the New York State Insurance Department for permission to split into two companies - one to insure safer muni bonds and another to handle riskier structured finance bonds. I spoke with bond strategist Marilyn Cohen of Envision Capital about the FGIC situation earlier today. She thinks fellow bond insurers Ambac and MBIA will likely cave to public pressure to split their businesses as well.

In other news, another sign of recessionary pressures on the economy as the latest University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index showed a sharp plunge. Susie Gharib asks the head of the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Owens about his economic outlook. The good news is, he sees a soft landing for the U.S. economy later this year. We also bring you Paul Kangas' Market Monitor interview with Jim Stack, the head of Investech Research.

Last night's commentator urged employers not to overlook their 30-and-40 something year old employees as they struggle to attract young employees and hold on to older more experienced workers. I thought I'd devote part of today's blog entry to another workplace issue: Celebrating birthdays in the workplace.

The nation has been teetering on the verge of what many economists are calling a consumer-led recession... but the fix is in! President Bush signed a $152 billion fiscal stimulus package into law today, asking Americans to put that money right back into the economy. Yep, that's right, you are being asked to do your part to perk up the economy by hitting the mall, the supercenter or even your local car dealer. To finance that spending spree the stimulus plan gives individuals tax rebates of up to $600, while couples stand to gain about $1200 on average. So does that mean you'll head for the sales rack or, as tonight's Money File commentator suggests, invest in your own financial future by paying down debt or saving for a rainy day?

Separately, the blue chips moved higher for the third straight day, but tonight' Street Critique guest says he's seeing a bear market that's in full swing. Paul Kangas' interview with Kevin Depew includes some stocks that Kevin says can help your portfolio survive the bear.

What a day on Wall Street! Today's market plunge on recession fears had everyone from the Treasury Secretary to my dad scratching their heads. Testifying on the budget in front of the Senate Finance Committee today, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he's paying close attention to what's going on in the financial markets. Meanwhile my dad, an 80+ retiree surfed the Web looking for answers. When we spoke this afternoon, I asked him the magic question, "Did you sell on the news?" His answer, "No."

I talked with our regular Street Critique guest Hilary Kramer about what she's seeing in the market. She likened it to a classic sports "head fake," saying just when investors were feeling a bottom was nearing on the Fed's aggressive rate cuts, today's ISM services data showed new signs of contraction. She'll be on with Jeff Yastine tomorrow night, with advice on some sectors to avoid and maybe even a bargain or two in the making. So, how are you doing with the market gyrations? Are you sitting on the sidelines waiting for the rate cuts to turn the tide, or are you out there hunting for bargains?

The waiting game is over and the Fed has delivered just what the markets ordered... a half-point cut in interest rates. In the statement accompanying today's decision on rates policymakers said, "Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households." The central bankers also noted a deepening of the housing contraction and some softening in the labor market. Stocks had been trading lower ahead of the announcement and popped higher on the news. But sellers appear to have stepped in just ahead of the close of trading. Susie Gharib analyzes the Fed statement with Mike Holland, Chairman of Holland and Company, and Michele Girard, Sr. Economist at RBS Greenwich Capital Management.

Ah.. the waiting game. Investors around the world are waiting on the Fed. Federal Reserve policy makers are wrapping up a two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. today with a decision on interest rates expected at 2:15 eastern time. Wall Street has been calling for and many say has even priced in a 50-basis point cut. But with the data we've seen this week, a more restrained quarter point cut could be in the offing. No matter what the central bankers decide.. we'll have complete coverage of the decision and analysis of the Fed's statement accompanying that decision in tonight's broadcast. Erika Miller is following the Fed and Susie Gharib will have her Fed panel on to discuss the move. She'll talk live in the program with Mike Holland, Chairman of Holland and Company, and Michele Girard, Sr. Economist at RBS Greenwich Capital Management.

Also in tonight's program, Paul Kangas adds a new guest to his Street Critique lineup. He's Josh Peters, Editor of Morningstar's Dividend Investor. And Darren Gersh is just back from California with the first of his Economic Choices '08 coverage of the issues facing California voters. Tonight's segment focuses on California's healthcare crisis.