Feds might buy companies’ short-term debt

The Federal Reserve is considering a proposal to buy vast amounts of unsecured short-term debt that companies rely on to finance their day-to-day activities. This would put the central bank closer to lending directly to businesses, and therefore put more taxpayer dollars at risk, some say. The plan was being formulated amid losses in the global stock market Monday, as the Dow Jones industrial finished down 369.88, below 10,000 points for the first time since 2004.