3percent for the month The broader SP 500 rose 4

A few people really got it, but there just weren’t enough of them to make any difference.Thanks for everything Adrian, and good luck where ever you end up. It probably doesn’t seem like it now, but once people realize what the Mariners have lost with your departure, you will be missed.You can follow me on Twitter here Or visit my Seattle Mariners blog here. Geithner promises TARP reform, aid to credit markets Stocks Bonds Dow ends 3.5 pct higher as banks rebound, IBM surprises Pound recovers from 23-year low; G7 action seen Portugal joins Greece and Spain on downgrade list German economy to contract 2.25 percent this year By Daniel Trotta NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The man chosen by Barack Obamato oversee the U.S. financial rescue said a detailed plan wouldbe presented in the next few weeks, on a day when U.S. stocksjumped and the British pound bounced back from multiyear lows The new U.S. president's pick for Treasury secretary,Timothy Geithner, took a grilling from senators considering hisnomination on Wednesday, and he apologized to them for"careless mistakes" in underpaying his taxes.

ID:nN21307570 But he also called for reforming the $700 billion bailoutof the U.S. financial sector, or TARP, and said a multi-prongedapproach would be taken to stabilize housing, strengthen banksand support consumer credit. "What the president is going to do is he's going to comebefore the Congress, we hope in the next few weeks, and lay outfor the American people a comprehensive plan to help stabilizethe core of our financial system," Geithner said. "We're also going to have to provide much more substantialdirect support to credit markets," he said. "If we are effective on that front, we should be able toget risk premia down, interest rates down, and get that basicmechanism of credit markets flowing again," said Geithner,currently president of the New York Federal Reserve. For highlights of Geithner's testimony, double-click onID:nN21260357 In Obama's first full day in office, he summoned hiseconomic advisers, who are working with the Democratic-ledCongress on an $825 billion fiscal stimulus package.ID;nN20421893 He froze pay for senior White House staff and tightenedrules concerning former lobbyists who work in government.ID:nN21488044 "During this period of economic emergency, families aretightening their belts and so should Washington," Obama said U.S.

BANKS RECOVER The Dow .DJI closed 3.5 percent higher, rebounding from atwo-month low, after surprisingly healthy results from IBM(IBM.N) and others. ID:nN21497109 The Dow had its biggestpoint and percentage gain since Dec 16, but remains down 6.3percent for the month The broader S&P 500 rose 4.4 percent U.S. banks soared 15 percent on the S&P Financial index.GSPF a day after a massive sell-off dropped it to a 14-yearlow. ID:nN21492581 After the closing bell, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) saidCEO Jamie Dimon had bought 500,000 shares ID:nWEN2984 European banks did not fare as well. Belgium planned a second round of aid for its banks, andFrance, Germany and Spain also offered more help, but theEuropean banks index fell to a 16-year low on fears that evenmore dramatic intervention will be needed. ID;nLL209067 British banks led the fall as the country confronted acocktail of deteriorating public finances, soaring unemploymentand a withering pound. ID:nLL421925 But then the pound rebounded from 23-year lows against thedollar on Wednesday on speculation the Group of Seven leadingnations will discuss sterling's weakness at their next meeting.ID:nN21494418 Investors were expressing concern over Britain's fiscaldeterioration.

Britain's Office for National Statistics said the publicsector posted a net cash requirement of 44.2 billion pounds($62 billion) last month, the highest on record. Almost halfresulted from the government's recapitalization of Royal Bankof Scotland (RBS.L). ID:nLL421925 Portugal became the third euro zone economy in a week to behit by a credit ratings downgrade, helping push the euro tosession lows against the U.S dollar. Standard & Poor's, which has already cut its ratings forGreece and Spain and put Ireland on negative watch, cutPortugal's long-term rating by a notch, citing slow economicreform and deteriorating public finances.ID:nLL146244 In more evidence that economies are not responding togovernment measures, Germany said its economy would contract by2.25 percent this year, sinking into its deepest recessionsince World War Two. ID:nLL133492 The International Monetary Fund warned it would sharply cutgrowth forecasts this month and the world would not return tostrong growth for two or three years.