President Bush looks down during his meeting with the president of Lebanon, Michel Sleiman ( not shown), at the White House yesterday

Warned that time was running short to bolster the distressed economy, congressional Republicans and Democrats yesterday reported agreement in principle on a bailout of the United States financial industry, and said they would present it to the Bush administration in hopes of a vote within days.

Emerging from a two-hour negotiating session, Democratic Senator Chris Dodd said, "We are very confident that we can act expeditiously."

"I now expect that we will indeed have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate (and) be signed by the president," said Senator Bob Bennett, a Republican.

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