November 21, 2008 5:44PM

Why Wall Street Likes Tim Geithner

By Ray Hennessey

Stock soared as word leaked out that President-Elect Barack Obama was planning to nominate New York Fed boss Tim Geithner as Treasury secretary. Why? Well, here are a few surmises:

- Status Quo We Can Believe In. Traders fear uncertainty, and a transfer of power to a new person, new party and new philosophy has contributed to the year's selloff. But Geithner's recent work is well-known on Wall Street, as an architect of the Bear Stearns sale, the Lehman collapse, and the AIG rescue. You may love him or you may hate him, but you certainly know him.

- Acela Diplomat. This is a man who easily navigates the Amtrak corridor between New York and D.C. Wall Street folks know him, but so does the D.C. crowd. He is a long-time government hand, which should build a skillset sorely missing by Henry Paulson. Hank was creative, but he was tone-deaf to the political theater.

- An Unusual Suspect. Though he's a political animal, he doesn't come with all the baggage that a Lindsey or a Reich or even a Rubin would bring.

One last point: The rally did come on the Geithner news, but don't take it as a ringing endorsement. This is a heavily shorted market, and the rare bit of certainty from the incoming Obama camp was enough to force the prudent shorts to cover. The market's long-term report card on Mr. Treasury Secretary Geithner is yet to come.