Wall Street boosted by Bush's $17.4 billion auto bailout

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street advanced Friday, as investors cheered the government's pledge to lend as much as $17.4 billion to U.S. automakers, staving off possible bankruptcies that could have sent a debilitating blow to the economy and the labor market.

The decision to provide emergency help to carry the struggling industry into the new year comes after a $14 billion bailout for Detroit automakers failed to make it out of the Senate last week.

The companies' cash flows have been dwindling to a slow trickle due to the weak economy, slumping sales and tight credit.

The White House said it will let automakers draw $13.4 billion in short-term financing, and another $4 billion will be added later. It also set conditions the automakers must quickly meet.

"Allowing the auto companies to collapse is not a responsible course of action," President Bush said at a news conference Friday morning.

Investors have been especially concerned about the job market ramifications of a possible bankruptcy filing by an automaker like General Motors Corp. or Chrysler LLC, which some analysts said could result in as many as 3 million U.S. job losses. The government lost more than half a million jobs in November, and the Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for unemployment remained well above 500,000 last week. When unemployment rises, spending declines and credit deteriorates.