U.S. Treasury delays bank bailout announcement

My take? They are out of "traditional" options. All options left are not without dire consequences down the line. 350 billion is a drop in the bucket compared to the capital needed to keep the banks solvent. And you know every cent will go to the banking sector...this talk of foreclosure mitigation is pure political theater, as it has been since day one.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Sunday pushed back until Tuesday the announcement of a keenly awaited bank rescue plan as it pressed lawmakers to settle their differences over a huge economic stimulus package.

"We're focussed on working with Congress to pass an economic recovery bill so we can create the jobs and make the investments necessary to get our economy moving again," Treasury Department spokesman Isaac Baker said.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will outline the bailout plan in a speech at 11 a.m. EST (4 p.m. British time) on Tuesday, the Treasury Department said.

The announcement of the bank rescue plan -- which will seek to shore up some of the biggest commercial banks in the United States -- had been due on Monday.

But the Senate is now expected to be focussed on that day on a massive economic stimulus ahead of a vote on Tuesday.

For that reason, Geithner had postponed release of the bank plan, Baker said in a statement.

The stimulus and the bank rescue plan are key parts of President Barack Obama's strategy for tackling the deepest financial crisis in the United States since the Great Depression.

Shares in major U.S. banks such as Bank of America and Citigroup have been volatile in recent weeks on speculation about the contents of the financial rescue plan.

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