U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives are set to vote shortly on the biggest proposed government intervention in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression after government officials, Treasury chiefs and political leaders agreed details of a $700 billion rescue plan to prop up the nation's ailing financial system.
Candidates John McCain and Barack Obama face-off Friday in first presidential debate. McCain had thrown the debate into doubt when he said he would only take part if a deal was reached on solving the financial crisis gripping the U.S. and global markets. By noon in Washington though, McCain agreed to take part despite continuing deadlock on the bailout.
A group of 11 European tourists and four Egyptians have been kidnapped in the southern Egyptian desert and apparently taken to neighboring Sudan, an Egyptian government spokesman said on Monday. The tourists included five Germans, five Italians and one Romanian, Magdi Rady, a spokesman for the Egyptian prime minister, told CNN.
Central banks around the world are pumping billions of dollars into money markets in a coordinated bid to calm global financial upheaval. The $247 billion package to fuel economic activity helped cheer markets with the Europe's FTSE 100, DAX 30 and CAC 40 all entering positive territory and Wall Street rising on early trading.
Stocks in Asia and Europe continued to tumble Tuesday following Wall Street's worst day since markets reopened seven years ago after the 9/11 terror attacks. Tokyo's Nikkei fell 4.95 percent while the Hong Kong Hang Seng shed 5.9 percent as the effects of Lehman Brothers' collapse reverberated around the world.
Global markets were reeling Monday after a convulsive day on Wall Street that saw leading U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers file for bankruptcy and others scramble for merger as the continued fallout from the credit crunch claimed new victims.
