UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of the $US700 billion financial rescue package in the United States as both Republican and Democrat leaders work frantically to secure the extra 12 votes needed to get it through the House of Representatives tomorrow, Sydney time.
The bill was passed in the Senate yesterday, but Senator Chris Dodd, a leading architect of the bill, said he understood people wanted to "stick a finger in the eye of the bankers and tycoons". But he said the crisis, if not tackled, would cause home mortgages and small business finance to dry up, bringing economic catastrophe to Americans.
Both presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, voted in favour of the bail-out.
International markets were in limbo ahead of the vote, with Australia's ASX200 index falling 33.5 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4761.1, after Wall Street's Dow Jones lost 0.2 per cent on Wednesday night.
