Most everything points to major gains when the markets open in a few minutes. European exhanges are up 4-6 percent, following Asia's big advances. Helping build up more confidence is word this morning that Britain and Germany have committed billions in taxpayer funds to prop up banks. Meanwhile, Neel T. Kashkari, the assistant Treasury secretary who will oversee the U.S. bailout, started laying out how it would work. From the NYT:

The government had set up teams to determine the best ways to buy mortgage-backed securities, acquire equity stakes in banks, identify home loans that need to be purchased, insure trouble assets, preserve homeownership, deal with the executive compensation at banks that receive capital injections and assure compliance with regulatory laws. “We will complete the design of these tools and deploy them as soon as they are ready,” he said. “We are committed to helping homeowners and to using the taxpayers’ money efficiently.