US House pressured to pass bill

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-04 08:30

The United States reported its biggest monthly job loss in 5 1/2 years on Friday, piling pressure on the US House of Representatives to pass a $700 billion bill to bail out banks and arrest a spreading crisis.

Traders watch House of Representatives vote on the $700 billion bailout package from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 3, 2008. The House of Representatives approved a $700 billion bailout package for U.S. banks, under pressure from all sides as the effort to head off a spreading financial crisis hung in the balance. [Agencies]

In Washington, the US Labor Department said there were 159,000 fewer jobs in the economy in September than in August, coming on top of manufacturing data this week that suggested a recession is approaching.

The latest figures came a week after the House shocked world markets by rejecting a previous draft of the bailout bill. With elections on Nov 4, US lawmakers are wary of voter backlash in asking taxpayers to pay for Wall Street's mistakes.

Late on Thursday, US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House would vote on the bailout bill on Friday, a sign that political leaders were confident of approval. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had said the bailout package would not be brought to the floor without the votes secured to pass it.

However, some Republicans who opposed it on Monday said they were not swayed by changes made to the Senate version, and some Democrats said they were put off by those changes.

Around the world, calls came for the US House to pass the bailout bill.

France's prime minister, whose country was scheduled to host an emergency summit with Italian, British and German leaders on Saturday, said only collective action could solve the financial crisis. He said he would not rule out any solution to stop any bank failing.

"The world is on the edge of the abyss because of an irresponsible system," Fillon said, alluding to widespread anger over past lax regulation of financial markets and excessive lending.

In one positive sign, Wells Fargo & Co, one of the strongest US banks, stepped in to buy beleaguered bank Wachovia Corp.

Investors in US stocks focused on the Wachovia deal, in which Wells Fargo trumped a bid by Citigroup and said it would complete the transaction without government help.

Still, bad news mounted in the European financial sector.

In Switzerland, UBS AG, hardest hit among European banks by its exposure to subprime-related holdings, said it would axe 2,000 investment banking jobs - on top of the 4,100 positions cut in the past year.

Worries grew that even if Washington agrees on the bailout package, it will not be enough to resolve deeper-rooted weakness. New data continued to show that a US recession is nearing and Europe's economy is worsening.

Similarly, world stocks fell to a fresh three-year low on concerns that the bailout would not be enough to prevent the US economy and that of the rest of the world slowing further.

Wall Street endured a dismal day on Thursday, as stocks dropped 4 percent and a seizing up in money markets sparked demand for the dollar.