The US Senate has passed a £385 billion rescue package for the nation's troubled economy.
President George Bush had said the measures were needed to stave off financial panic and avoid a "long and painful recession" - and the Senate passed the Bill by 74 votes to 25.
The upper house of the US Congress rescued the proposals, seen by many Americans as a bail-out of Wall Street, by adding more than £56.2bn of sweeteners in a bid to win more support from members of the lower house, which rejected the original proposals on Monday.
US presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama shook hands on the floor of the Senate before they both backed the Bill, as did Delaware senator Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
The Bill now returns to the House of Representatives where a vote is expected on Friday.
The amended package must meet the approval of both houses of Congress before the president can sign it in to law.
But some US political pundits said the Bill was unlikely to reach the voting stage in the House until political leaders were sure that it had enough support to be passed - and the vote could be delayed until next week to enable that to happen.
Top Democrats and Republicans will be trying to muscle the Bill through the House by twisting arms - or, as one pundit said, "breaking them" - to convince representatives to support the measures over the next couple of days.
A repeat of Monday's vote, which saw the Bill rejected 228-205 and a record plunge of the stock markets by more than 777 points, would be disastrous for the US economy.
