WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's top economic advisers are promising to work with their counterparts around the world to restore confidence and stability to financial markets.

The advisers say they'll quickly implement the wider authorities granted to federal regulators by the bailout package that was passed on Friday.

There were a number of rapid-fire announcements before Wall Street opened this morning. The Federal Reserve said it will significantly expand its short-term loan program to squeezed banks by billions of dollars. Loans that will be available to banks in November will also be sharply increased.

The Federal Reserve also says it will begin paying interest on the reserves of commercial banks. That's aimed at expanding the Fed's resources.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department says it will expand the size of its upcoming debt auctions to handle the increased borrowing needs to fund the 700 billion dollar bailout effort. Treasury is also thinking about bringing back the three-year note.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)