US president and Congressional leaders to meet later today after failure to agree on $700bn rescue package
Plans for a $700bn bail-out of Wall Street which would see the US government buy bad debts from banks has not been completed.
Presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, took time out of their presidential campaigns to meet the US president George Bush and Congressional leaders to try to negotiate a deal that it is hoped will lessen the risk of other finance companies failing.
The Financial Times reports that the congressional leadership of both parties agreed to give the adiministration the full $700bn it sought, with a first tranche of $250bn and a further $100bn available without further congressional approval. The remaining $350bn would be subject to a vote in Congress at a later date.
Congressional leaders are expected to meet later today for further discussions.
Yesterday the Dow Jones closed up 198.09 points, a rise of 1.83%, to finish on 11,023.26. There are fears the markets will react negatively in light of the uncertainty. At 0830, the FTSE 100 had fallen 88.78 points to 5,108.24.
