Congressional leaders and the Bush administration reached a tentative deal early Sunday on a landmark bailout of imperiled financial markets whose collapse could plunge the nation into a deep recession, the Associated Press reported. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the $700 billion accord early Sunday morning, just after midnight, but said it still has to be put on paper. «We've still got more to do to finalize it, but I think we're there,» said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who also participated in the negotiations in the Capitol. «We worked out everything,» said Sen. Judd Gregg, the chief Senate Republican in the talks. He said the House should be able to vote on it Sunday, and the Senate could take it up Monday. The plan calls for the Treasury Department to buy deeply distressed mortgage-backed securities and other bad debts held by banks and other investors.
