Markets bank on success of amended bail-out bill

Traders worldwide hope the financial rescue package has undergone enough amendments since Monday to squeeze through the US congress. Among the changes made since the bill was rejected is a clause raising the amount of personal savings the government will guarantee from 100,000 dollars to 250,000 dollars.

Both sides of America’s political divide are being urged to put party politics aside for the economy’s sake.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said: “Inaction is not an option. Businesses all over the country cannot borrow to finance their own operations and pay their bills. If we do nothing many will fail.”

Like McCain, Democrat White House hopeful Barack Obama will also be in Washington to keep a close eye on events. The crisis has provided one of the rare occasions where both are singing from the same hymn sheet.

Obama told a rally in Reno: “We can’t afford not to act. So, both parties who are close to accepting this plan, over the next few hours and the next few days, should seek out any new ideas that might get this done.”

It was the lower house that threw out the original bill on Monday. Today’s vote is in the upper house, the Senate.

Meanwhile, one poll suggests public support for the bail-out is waning, with just 45 percent of Americans in favour.

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