New York - Federal regulators late Thursday shut down Washington Mutual Inc (WaMu), the largest US saving and loan, in what is is the largest-ever US bank failure.

WaMu's deposit accounts were immediately purchased by banking giant JP Morgan Chase & Co for 1.9 billion dollars, guaranteeing that no depositors would lose money.

Washington  - US stocks rose on Thursday as Congress neared completion of a 700-billion-dollar administration bailout aimed at reviving the ailing economy.

Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut and chair of the Senate banking committee, said Thursday afternoon an agreement on a deal had been reached in principle, but must still be ironed out with congressional leaders and the administration.

"We've reached a fundamental agreement on a set of principles," Dodd said.

Washington  - A bipartisan agreement to pass a 700-billion- dollar deal to bail the country out of its financial crisis appeared to have been reached, legislators from the special committees handling the issue said Thursday.

But Republican leaders signalled they would not back the plan, which must still be ironed out with congressional leadership and the White House, according to MSNBC.

Washington  - A bipartisan agreement to pass a 700-billion- dollar deal to bail the country out of its financial crisis has been reached, legislators from the special committees handling the issue said Thursday.

Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut and chair of the Senate banking committee, could not say exactly when the bill would pass, but he expected action "within the next few days."

"We've reached a fundamental agreement on a set of principles," Dodd said.

New York - Washington Mutual Inc (WaMu), the largest savings and loan association in the United States, has approached a number of private equity firms to gauge their 
interest in a takeover to shore up its financial position, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The Seattle-based lender has lost more than 90 per cent of its share value in the past 12 months, suffering the effects of the credit crisis. Chairman Kerry Killinger stepped 
down in June 2008.

Sydney - The Australian share market gave up some of its recent gains Thursday as investors waited for the promised billion-dollar Wall Street bailout.

The ASX 200 fell 54 points, or 1 per cent, to 4,972.

The market was dragged down by resources stocks, on fears that a global recession will crimp demand for leading exports like coal and iron ore. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, was down 4 per cent.