US congressional leaders say they have reached a broad outline of a deal to put in place a $700bn financial plan aimed at bailing out the troubled US financial industry.
Speaking after marathon talks, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said great progress had been made, but that details remain to be worked out before the accord is finalised.
Senior Republican and Democratic leaders have been trying to agree on buying bad debt that is choking financial markets.
Meanwhile, it is expected that the troubled British bank, Bradford & Bingley, will be nationalised.
A spokesman for the UK Financial Services Authority confirmed that the Treasury, the FSA and the Bank of England were 'working closely with B&B to consider the implications for its business of recent financial turmoil.'
The Treasury would only say that discussions were 'ongoing', although an announcement could come later tonight or early tomorrow morning before the London Stock Exchange opens.
The move would made under the special legislation used by the Treasury when it took Northern Rock into public ownership earlier this year.
In Dublin, there was a special Cabinet meeting this morning to discuss the economy.
Government sources say everything is being considered, including severe spending cuts and increased borrowing.
There will be number of other special cabinet meetings before the final details of next month's budget are signed off.
Meanwhile, Minister for Children Barry Andrews has said the Budget is going to be very tough for people.
Speaking on The Week in Politics, Mr Andrews said a strong message needed to be signalled that the Government was going to get control over the public finances.
