With both majority Democrats and the US president's own Republican Party lining up against a mammoth 700-billion-dollar rescue plan for Wall Street, US President George Bush was to speak to the nation Wednesday evening (0100 GMT Thursday) to drum up support.

The escalating US financial crisis, which has frozen credit around the world, is now impacting the US presidential campaign, with Republican nominee John McCain, 72, suspending his campaign and heading back to Washington Thursday in a bid to break the legislative logjam.

Democratic nominee Obama said that he did not want to "confuse" Congress with presidential politics and would return to the Senate from the campaign trail only at the request of his Democratic Party's legislative leaders.

Washington  - US stocks were mixed on Wednesday with gains in high technology and a slower decline in blue chips and general stocks as gridlock continued in Washington over prompt passage of a week-old White House rescue plan for Wall Street.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress of "grave threats" facing the American economy and financial system, and of the consequences of failure to act.

Washington  - To Republican Senator Jim Bunning, it's "financial socialism" and "un-American."

To US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, it's the only way to rescue the country from certain economic collapse.

The White House's 700-billion-dollar rescue raft for Wall Street must navigate some challenging rapids in Congress as the proposal gets its first public airing this week.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex, today (Sep 24), opened with a gain of 60.23 points at 13,630.54. Real estate, banking and power segments edged higher during the early trades.

In the previous day session, the Sensex closed 424.65 points down at 13,570.31, while the NSE Nifty dropped 96.15 points at 4,126.90.

New York - Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc gained the potentially influential support of legendary investor Warren Buffett late Tuesday.

The announcement that Buffett's firm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, would buy a 5-billion-dollar stake in Goldman Sachs comes as the investment banking firm is converting itself to a normal bank holding company, a decision reached this week to obtain greater access to loans from the US Federal Reserve. The conversion will place Goldman Sachs under greater government scrutiny.

The 30-share index BSE Sensex lost more than 400 points on Tuesday (Sep 23) on worries over the long-term implications of the $700 billion bailout plan to fix the financial market turmoil. 

Moreover, rising crude oil prices also dampened the overall market reaction.

Heavy selling action was seen across the board. IT, realty, metal, banking and power stocks led the declines.

Both Midcap and Smallcap index lost 2.06% and 1.63% respectively.