As United States lawmakers geared up to vote today on creating a $700-billion government fund to buy bad debt and alleviate the financial crisis, European authorities raced to the rescue of three troubled banks.
With global markets hanging on every twist and turn in Washington, European regulators scrambled yesterday to prevent two banks from collapsing.
U.S. President George W. Bush said the plan being finalized by Congress provides the tools and funding to protect the U.S. economy from a "system-wide breakdown." Bush is to make a statement at 7:35 a.m. today, the White House said.
