US following European lead in bank bail-outs

• Wall Street shares fly after equity stake plan drawn up • Treasury moving 'quickly but methodically' The US government summoned banking bosses to Washington yesterday to put the finishing touches to a plan to pump billions of dollars into the financial industry, sparking frenzied anticipation of a rescue that sent shares on Wall Street flying. Anxious to avoid lagging behind Europe in supporting troubled institutions, the US treasury said it was moving "quickly but methodically" towards an initiative that is likely to include guaranteeing inter-bank lending and taking equity stakes in leading banks. Encouraged by the prospect of bail-outs on both sides of the Atlantic, buyers returned to the US stockmarket. During the morning session in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average surged by as much as 578 points to 9,029 -... [read full story]