New York - After a topsy-turvy start to the week, US stocks fell only slightly Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of a Senate vote on the 700-billion-dollar rescue plan.

Stocks were driven down by reports that car sales and manufacturing fell sharply in the last month - signs that the availability of credit was tightening across the country.

The Senate was to vote late Wednesday on an amended version of the massive financial rescue package, which failed to pass the lower House of Representatives on Monday. Congressional leaders voiced confidence the new bill would be approved.

New York - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a successful politician after a life as a financier, plans to seek a reversal a local law limiting mayors to two terms of four years each so he can run again, news reports said Wednesday.

Bloomberg, who founded the financial data services bearing his name before entering politics, planned to announce his candidacy for a third term on Thursday and to propose a revision of the 15-year-old term limits law.

New York  - US banking giant Citigroup Inc will buy the bulk of the operations of fourth-largest bank Wachovia Corp for about 2.16 billion dollars, the latest consolidation move under government watch in the ongoing credit crisis.

Citigroup will buy the banking business of Wachovia and get government help in absorbing some of the losses related to the subprime-mortgage market, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a statement Monday.

New York  - UN Secreta

New York  - Myanmar put on a good face on Monday before the UN General Assembly, promising far-reaching democratic reforms and use of its rich natural resources to help other countries hit by high food and energy costs.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Nyan Win, whose government has been lambasted for shutting down political opposition and rejecting relief aid in May when hit by the devastating Cyclone Nargis, said peace and stability now prevail in the country.

New York  - Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group will acquire a 21-per-cent stake in Morgan Stanley as the financial crisis has hurt confidence in US banks and hampered liquidity, the firms announced Monday.

The largest Japanese financial group will pay 9 billion dollars to become the primary shareholder. The cash infusion comes amid a credit crunch that has brought turmoil to world financial markets and prompted a 700-billion-dollar bailout deal making its way through the US Congress.