The U.S. dollar rallied against major currencies Tuesday as investors appeared confident that Washington would be able to push through its massive bailout package.

Investors have stopped fleeing money-market funds, a week after the federal government said it would insure fund shares don't lose their value.

The $700 billion financial plan for Wall Street failed in the House of Representatives because people are not convinced it is a "rescue effort," Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain told CNN's "American Morning."

The global financial tumult is so broad and deep that it's almost too big to grasp, so here's a way to think about it. Every financial crisis involves at least one vicious circle, a process in which things getting bad causes things to get worse.

Dear Annie: I work for Hewlett-Packard, which, as you probably know, is planning to lay off more than 24,000 people worldwide over the next three years. It seems that most of those on the chopping block are employees who came along with HP's acquisition of EDS. Since I happen to be in that group, I wonder if I should leave now, or wait and see what happens. On the one hand, I like it here, and my immediate boss has told me that he sees a great future for me at HP, so I should "just sit tight." On the other hand, I have two other job offers, one that came from a recruiter, and another from a former EDS colleague who left before the merger. Any advice on what to do? -Dangling Man

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday proposed expanding federal deposit insurance for families and small businesses as a way to convince lawmakers who voted against the $700 billion federal bailout plan to change their minds.

The fate of the government's $700 billion financial bailout plan - a far-reaching attempt to stem a growing economic crisis - was thrown in doubt Monday as the House rejected the controversial measure.

So much for the theory of "decoupling," the hopeful notion held just a few weeks ago that the rest of the world was robust enough to ride out a U.S. domestic crisis.

Now that there is an actual bailout bill, what do investors think about the $700 billion package? Depends whom you ask.

The $700 billion bailout legislation now under consideration by Congress calls for the Treasury Secretary to implement a plan to stem foreclosures by working with servicers to modify loans.

Many advocates of the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street trumpet its limitations on large pay packages and so-called golden parachutes for some of the top executives at the troubled firms that will get help.

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Personal spending stagnated in August as the slowing economy continued to weigh on consumers, according to a government report released Monday.

The federal government would provide as much as $700 billion in a far-reaching plan to rescue the nation's troubled financial system, according to a bill posted online by leading Democratic lawmakers on Sunday.

Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain said Sunday they would probably vote for the government's proposed bailout legislation once they check out the final details.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett warned Congressional leaders Saturday night of "the biggest financial meltdown in American history" if they did not act to secure the financial system.

Is it even harder now for businesses to get credit from banks? No question.

In one frenzied month Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke remade Wall Street. Along the way they may also have recast American politics. A month of historic government interventions shows signs of triggering a political version of climate change - unleashing a new era of class fury that could hurt U.S. companies, business leaders, and wealthy investors for years.

Gas prices dropped for their eleventh day in a row, bringing their total decline to about 20 cents over the period, according to a nationwide survey of credit card swipes at gasoline stations.

Congressional leaders said shortly after midnight that they had reached a tentative deal over the White House's proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial system.