Barack Obama put celebrations behind him and held transition meetings in Chicago on the Wednesday after his election victory.

The White House has a message for U.S. financial institutions receiving billions in federal help: quit hoarding the money and start making more loans.

President Bush will lay out a more detailed explanation today of what the government is doing to battle the worst financial crisis in more than a half-century.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States ushered in a new era in banking on Tuesday with plans to take equity stakes worth up to $250 billion in financial institutions, an incursion into the private sector that U.S. officials called a regrettable last resort.

Stocks here and around the world rallied Monday afternoon on news that a worldwide financial rescue is underway.

Rapidly developing and poor nations engulfed by the global financial crisis will be the focus of meetings between global finance ministers in Washington today.

An early morning White House meeting of the world’s biggest economic powers has brought more assurances, but apparently no new strategies on the credit crunch.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the administration will move ahead with a plan to buy stock in financial institutions.

President Bush said today that the government’s financial rescue plan is aggressive enough and big enough to work.

The Dow slipped 189 points, Asian markets rallied, Russia and Indonesia remained closed after the Fed and six other banks slashed interest rates.

The British government has announced an $87.5 billion plan to partially nationalize its major banks in a bid to restore economic stability.

The government is considering a bold plan to buy massive amounts of unsecured short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is threatening the economy.

After days of negotiations over the massive 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bailout, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is saying, “I think we’re there.“

President Bush told the nation Wednesday night we’re in the midst of a “serious financial crisis” that could turn into “financial panic.“

South Carolina’s senators are on different sides of the financial rescue package being pushed to ease a financial meltdown on Wall Street.