Vote for US $700bn rescue plan to take place today

Monday night saw the rejection of the $700 billion (£380 billion) Wall Street rescue plan after days of negotiations between the US Government and lawmakers.

The plan failed to receive support from Congress who voted against the proposed scheme. Following the news, stocks throughout the world fell sharply.

However, stock markets have recovered slightly after the news that the US Senate will vote today on a version of the rescue package.

It is understood that the Senate version is similar to the House’s original plan but has some new clauses to gain the vote of Congress.

One of the new measures is to raise the Government’s guarantee on savings from the current $100,000 to $250,000.

Senator Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they are confident that a responsible bill will be passed.

Earlier this week, President George W. Bush warned of financial meltdown if the rescue plan does not receive full support.

Yesterday, the Dow Jones index closed up 4.7%, recovering slightly from Monday, which saw a day of bailouts and nationalisations worldwide.

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