U.S. passes bailout, focus shifts to fallout

By Eddie Evans and Kevin Krolicki

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government enacted a landmark $700 billion (396 billion pound) bank bailout on Friday, but investors questioned whether it could contain a panic that began on Wall Street and spread to become a global financial crisis.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the rescue plan by a vote of 263-171 on Friday. That sent the measure to President George W. Bush, who quickly signed it into law, concluding two weeks of high-stakes haggling over the plan that had roiled and captivated global markets.

Markets pivoted on passage of the U.S. bailout, as investors' attention turned to signs of a gathering recession.

Stocks, which had been higher before the vote, dropped, with the S&P 500 index closing at its lowest level in almost four years. The dollar was also in retreat.

"This probably comes a bit too late. If this had been done earlier, it probably would have had a much bigger impact in restoring confidence," said Anna Piretti, economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who had been the administration's chief lobbyist for the plan, said he would move quickly to buy up distressed assets from banks.

"We have shown the world that the United States of America will stabilise our financial markets and maintain a leading role in the global economy," Bush said in a short statement delivered before cameras outside the White House.

Analysts cautioned it was still unclear whether the U.S. plan would work as advertised.