Current+Matt

[|'Grave threats]

[|'> > > Bush to address nation on financial rescue plan]
 * NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday, warning that the current financial crisis is the most significant in more than 60 years, and that even tougher times are ahead without quick Congressional approval of a controversial Wall Street bailout.
 * Bernanke, testifying before the Joint Economic Committee, found a lot of senators and representatives voicing support for taking action to address the crisis - even if they had problems with some aspects of the Bush administration's proposal to have the Treasury Department buy as much as $700 billion in mortgage-backed securities.
 * Bernanke said there is plenty of blame to go around for the current crisis, as he named Wall Street firms and banks that underestimated risk of the securities they were creating, rating agencies and regulators.
 * WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson agreed to congressional demands Wednesday to limit the pay of executives whose firms benefit from any financial market bailout, even as Democrats and Republicans pressed for additional concessions and the White House mounted an all-out lobbying press to secure a deal.
 * Several lawmakers said they were hoping to vote on a version of the Treasury Department's $700 billion plan by Sunday at the latest, concerned about a negative market reaction if they didn't reach agreement by the start of business next week.
 * While many Democrats want to break the $700 billion into installments or take other steps to reduce the size of the massive plan, Durbin and others said Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have resisted the efforts in an meetings with lawmakers.
 * [|Assault on bailout continues as Congress seeks answers]
 * WASHINGTON -- As negotiators raced the clock in search of a compromise, President Bush used a rare prime-time address to the nation Wednesday night to try to convince a skeptical public and rebellious Republicans that the government must put $700 billion of taxpayers' money at risk to bail out the financial system.
 * Putting his battered prestige on the line, Bush painted a stark picture of the country's financial condition: "We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis. . . . Our entire economy is in danger," he said. "America could slip into a financial panic."
 * With financial markets still jittery and credit for day-to-day economic activity apparently freezing up, Bush said he would convene a White House meeting today with leading Democrats and Republicans, including the two parties' presidential nominees, to seek agreement on a plan