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| Congress gets bail-out request | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| President Bush has asked Congress to release the remaining $350bn (£236bn) of US financial bail-out funds after a request from Barack Obama. | |
| There is strong opposition in Congress to releasing the money with the House of Representatives and the Senate considering blocking the move. | There is strong opposition in Congress to releasing the money with the House of Representatives and the Senate considering blocking the move. |
| But funds would be likely to remain available because any disapproval could be vetoed by President Bush. | But funds would be likely to remain available because any disapproval could be vetoed by President Bush. |
| But observers say if the payout was rejected, it could aggravate markets. | But observers say if the payout was rejected, it could aggravate markets. |
| There have been hopes that if the final tranche of the bail-out was approved, it would give a strong start to Mr Obama's efforts to fighting the financial crisis when he takes office next week. | There have been hopes that if the final tranche of the bail-out was approved, it would give a strong start to Mr Obama's efforts to fighting the financial crisis when he takes office next week. |
| The president-elect's team have been trying to douse opposition to the payment of the rest of the funds agreed last year under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp). | The president-elect's team have been trying to douse opposition to the payment of the rest of the funds agreed last year under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp). |
| The White House said that President Bush had formally requested on Monday evening that Congress release the remaining pledged capital. | |
| 'Rules needed' | 'Rules needed' |
| The US House of Representatives passed the $700bn government plan to rescue the US financial sector in October last year - having rejected an earlier version of it which hammered global stock markets. | The US House of Representatives passed the $700bn government plan to rescue the US financial sector in October last year - having rejected an earlier version of it which hammered global stock markets. |
| The package was aimed at buying up the bad debts of failing financial institutions on Wall Street. | The package was aimed at buying up the bad debts of failing financial institutions on Wall Street. |
| The Treasury Department, which is managing the Tarp, has already committed the first half of it - mainly to capital injections into troubled banks, but many Congress members are unhappy with how it has been handled. | The Treasury Department, which is managing the Tarp, has already committed the first half of it - mainly to capital injections into troubled banks, but many Congress members are unhappy with how it has been handled. |
| US democrat congressman Barney Frank said that he and Mr Obama agreed that new rules were needed to govern how the next $350bn was disbursed - but said he wanted these written into law. | US democrat congressman Barney Frank said that he and Mr Obama agreed that new rules were needed to govern how the next $350bn was disbursed - but said he wanted these written into law. |
| Carmakers and even leading figures of the pornography industry have argued that they should be given access to the cash which was earmarked for financial institutions. | Carmakers and even leading figures of the pornography industry have argued that they should be given access to the cash which was earmarked for financial institutions. |