US Congress debates on bail-out plan

The lower house of the US Congress is debating ahead of a vote on a US$700 billion plan to bail out Wall Street.



President George W. Bush has urged the House of Representatives to pass the bill, which is designed to end the credit crunch. He is hoping a passage will send a strong signal to the markets.



The vote comes amid further falls on global markets and as banks failed in the US, Europe and the UK.



The fourth largest US bank, Wachovia, is being bought by Citigroup after becoming the latest to hit problems.



In Europe, Benelux giant Fortis was bailed out by three governments, while in the UK the Bradford & Bingley bank was nationalised.



The US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and eight other central banks have announced further moves to combat the crisis, by making a further US$330 billion available to provide liquidity to global money markets.