The original proposals - $700bn, no questions asked - definitely seemed over the top, but the messages we were receiving on this side of the Atlantic were that the different sides had closed the gap between them over the weekend, and I think many people will be surprised by this over here.

It did surprise me that there was no oversight of such huge sums - I am not sure Hank Paulson has much of a political touch.

The news report I heard had someone - a Republican, I would guess - blaming the Democrats: so it'll be interesting to see if this affects the Presidential election.