European,U.S. Markets Rally

EUROPEAN, U.S. MARKETS RALLY ON BAILOUT HOPES:

Stock markets in New York are rallying Tuesday amid fresh efforts in Washington to resurrect a $700 billion bailout plan aimed at stabilizing the U.S. economy following weeks of turmoil that have transformed the global financial landscape.The bailout proposal, which would give U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson the authority to buy up toxic mortgage-related assets in troubled banks, was rejected Monday by the House of Representatives, prompting massive losses on Wall Street with the Dow Jones plunging 777 points -- its worst performance since the 1987 stocks crash. But by noon Tuesday, the Dow Jones had gained about 300 points amid renewed hopes that lawmakers will pass a revised bailout package before the end of the week.
Major European markets closed up, with Britain's FTSE 100 up about 2.1 percent, France's CAC 40 up 1.7 percent and the German DAX 30 up marginally.

Stampede at Rajasthan temple

Major stampede at Rajasthan temple; 40 killed, 150 injured .

At least 30 people have been feared killed and over 150 injured following an early morning stampede at Chamunda temple in Mehrangarh near Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Over 1000 devotees, specially women, had gathered at the temple located on a hillock within the famous Jodhpur Forton the occasion of the first navratra on Monday morning. At around 5.30 am, some people tried enter the temple in a hurry to beat the crowd, leading to the stampede.Around 30 bodies were brought to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital and the remaining 10 to Mathura Das Hospital in Jodhpur, Divisional Commissioner Kiran Soni Gupta said.

Suspense on Nuclear Deal

SUSPENSE PERSISTS ON SENATE'S NOD FOR
N-DEAL:

The US Senate, which is still to give a nod to the Indo-US nuclear deal, reconvened this morning but suspense prevailed over whether the landmark accord would come up for vote on Monday, with Senators pre-occupied with the USD 700 billion economic package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made no mention of the approval legislation for the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in his opening remarks and confined his words to the Rail Safety and Amtrak legislation the Senate is expected to vote prior to the Democrats adjourning for their Caucus for an hour. Reid had last week said that the 123 agreement with India is high on the agenda for the Senate but acknowledged that several lawmakers have differences over some clauses contained in the accord, which they say will undermine nuclear non-proliferation standards. The Senate, which will reconvene after this meeting will perhaps get into a discussion of the emergency financial package, which is likely to have been voted on by the House of Representatives by then. The Chamber is expected to break off on Monday for the Jewish holiday and will return to session only on Wednesday. Sources say as many as five Senators have placed a "hold" on the approval legislation for the civilian nuclear agreement, which must be lifted before the agreement is brought to the Senate floor or approved by a Unanimous Consent Agreement. The House of Representatives cleared the Bill on the US-India deal last Saturday by a 298 to 117 margin. While it is difficult to predict the course of developments in the Congress, Senate sources now say that the legislation could "possibly" come up on Wednesday.

Asian markets fall

ASIAN MARKETS FALL ON U.S BAILOUT FAILURE:
Asian markets reacted to the rejection by U.S. lawmakers of a $700 billion bailout plan, the biggest proposed government intervention in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression of 1929. Overnight, the Dow Jones closed nearly 800 points down. Asian and Pacific stock markets sank in early trade on Tuesday after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to adopt a financial bailout plan, which triggered the largest point drop in U.S. market history.

The Hong Kong stock exchange opened nearly 5.5 percent down Tuesday.

The Japan's Nikkei Index was down 4.63 percent while the Australian Securities Exchange fell 3.4 percent.

The Korea Exchange in Seoul, South Korea, was down 3.47 percent.

The American stock market was down almost 778 points at closing -- just under 7 percent.

U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Monday voted against the biggest proposed government intervention in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression of 1929.

Government officials, Treasury chiefs and political leaders from both sides of the political divide thought they had agreed Sunday on the details of a $700 billion rescue plan that would prop up the nation's ailing financial system -- and be supported in the House of Representatives.

As it became apparent the vote was lost, the Dow Jones plunged.
Preliminary tallies had the Dow losing 777 points -- the worst single-day point loss ever, topping even the loss following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Monday's plummet knocked out approximately $1.2 trillion in market value, the first post-$1 trillion day ever, according to a drop in the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, the broadest measure of the stock market. However the 7 percent decline does not rank among the top 10 percentage declines.
Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the result -- 205 to 228 against the bailout.
President George W. Bush was "very disappointed," his spokesman, Tony Fratto said. Bush will be meeting with his advisors and will be calling congressional leaders, Fratto added.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he will continue to work with congressional leaders to draft a plan that does pass.
Before the vote, Bush said the plan was of "tremendous importance to all Americans." Bailout explainer: What's in the bill?
The Democratic candidate for U.S. president, Sen. Barack Obama, blasted Congress for not passing a financial rescue package, while the Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain's campaign accused Obama and Democrats of putting "politics ahead of country."
A four-hour debate included impassioned pleas for and against the measure from Democrats and Republicans alike. Even some of those arguing for the legislation were quick to point out problems with it.
But the vote began with both Democratic and Republican leadership telling their members the only way to protect the economy from a spreading credit crunch was to vote for the difficult to swallow measure.
After the defeat, Republican leaders accused Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House, of giving a partisan speech which "poisoned" Republican support. Watch Republicans lay the blame at Democratic feet »
Pelosi said the $700 billion "is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush administration's failed economic policies."
But Barney Frank, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, demanded: "Because somebody hurt their feelings, they decided to punish the country?" He said he did not think the Republican leadership was able to get enough colleagues to support the bailout and was diverting attention to Pelosi.
When leading House Republicans signed on to the proposal Sunday after earlier reservations, the bill was expected to pass.

World markets Slide Further

Markets slide ahead of U.S. bailout vote
World markets fall as they await the vote by U.S. lawmakers on the biggest proposed government intervention in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression of 1929. Government officials, Treasury chiefs and political leaders agreed Sunday the details of a $700 billion rescue plan to prop up the nation's ailing financial system.

Analysts said the flurry of developments around the world is confirming fears that the global financial contagion is likely to spread further before any recovery.
"There's an increasing realization that the cleanup and the mending of all that's gone wrong is going to take an extended period to work through, and we're going to see an extended recovery period," said Jamie Spiteri, senior dealer at Shaw Stockbroking in Sydney.
Britain's FTSE 100 fell 4.16 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 3.87 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 4.90 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.3 percent at 11,743.61, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 2.1 percent to 18,286.90.
In late morning New York trading, the Dow fell 289.68, or 2.60 percent, to 10,853.45 after having been down more than 350.
The markets were responding in part to news that Dutch-Belgian banking giant Fortis NV was partially nationalized with a 11.2 billion euros ($16.4 billion) rescue from the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, after investor confidence in the bank disappeared last week.
"They're worried that another fire is starting in Europe," said Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong, referring to the Fortis news.
In other activity across Europe, the British government nationalized mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, taking over the bank's 50 billion pound ($91 billion) mortgage and loan books. In a similar move, the Icelandic government bought a 75 percent stake in Glitnir, the country's third largest bank, for 600 million euros ($878 million) to ensure broader market stability after it suffered liquidity issues.
In Germany, the country's second biggest commercial property lender, Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, said it had secured a multibillion euro line of credit from several banks.
The banking turmoil across Europe comes ahead of a vote by U.S. lawmakers on a $700 billion public bailout of the ailing financial industry. After days of intense talks, the White House and Congressional leaders agreed Sunday to the bailout after lawmakers insisted on sharing spending controls with the administration of President Bush.