Despite the fact the House of Representatives passed the economic recovery bill earlier today, continued problems in the banking and credit markets generated an across-the-board loss for all three major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shaved off 7.4 percent for the week; the Nasdaq Composite shed 10.8 percent; and the S&P 500 bled out 9.4 percent.

With the seizure of Washington Mutual yesterday and the continued foot dragging on a federal bailout, all three indexes once again posted sizable losses for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Index, including its newest component Kraft Foods--which replaced AIG Sept. 22--gave up 2 percent for the week, the S&P 500 took a loss of 3.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 4 percent.

There’s been an abundance of bailouts this week, with everyone propped up so far other than the ones who really need it. But the news helped turn what could have been a dismal week for stocks into a rather flat one. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 percent for the week; the Nasdaq Composite grew 0.6 percent; and the S&P 500 tacked on 0.3 percent.

Despite what initially looked to be a promising week for the markets as some resolution was finally being brought to the issues facing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the three major US indexes finished the week relatively flat after more bad news from the financial sector dragged the markets down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the exception, gaining 1.9 percent for the week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.8 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

It was a bad week for equity investors, with all three indexes posting sizable losses, though US Treasury debt saw a pop on signs that the economy continues to weaken. The S&P 500 gave up 3.1 percent in this short trading week, with the Nasdaq Composite sliding 4.7 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average giving up 2.8 percent. Crude oil also gave up about 8 percent for the week.

The US indexes enjoyed a mid-week rally when the news hit that second quarter GDP rallied to show 3.3 percent growth, beating analyst expectations of 2.7 percent. Unfortunately, the momentum couldn’t be maintained through Friday. The Commerce Dept released personal income data, which showed incomes had fallen 0.7 percent in July, the biggest drop since August 2005.

All three US indexes trended down this week, though we caught a nice rally today when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke commented that he saw inflation slowing into 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3 percent; the S&P 500 lost 0.5 percent; and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.5 percent.

All told, it was a tough week on Wall Street, though two of the three major indexes posted weekly gains. The S&P 500 posted a weak gain of 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.6 percent, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.6 percent.

Morgan Stanley, the second largest US securities firm, reportedly told thousands of its clients that they won’t be allowed to draw money against their home equity lines of credit as consumers fell behind on their payments at the fastest pace in two decades in the first quarter.

We’ve had a choppy week on Wall Street as traders continue to seek some direction from both positive and negative news. All three of the major indexes are relatively flat this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq Composite ended the week flat and the S&P 500 tacked on 0.2 percent.