by Calculated Risk on 10/01/2008 08:36:00 AM

From the WSJ: Businesses Pressure Congress on Bailout Plan

General Electric Co. and Verizon Communications Inc. ... have begun lobbying drives. And Microsoft Corp., which has relatively limited borrowing needs, "strongly urges" Congress to reconsider a rescue package "that will re-instill confidence and stability in the financial markets," said the company's top lawyer, Brad Smith.

Even Microsoft, which is sitting on a $23 billion hoard of cash, would be tested by a protracted credit crunch, as its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, noted Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Norway, Mr. Ballmer said, "No company is immune to these issues."
...
[B]usinesses big and small said borrowing was getting harder as the cost of funds rose.

Corporate-bond issuance in the quarter plunged to $76.7 billion from $337.3 billion in the second quarter ... Companies overall were forced to reduce their borrowings on the short-term commercial paper market by $212 billion between the end of February and last Wednesday, as investors continued to back away from the corporate IOUs.

The lobbying has really started. The Senate will vote on the bailout bill this evening.