By Eddie Evans and Ralph Boulton 27 minutes ago NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co, one of the strongest U.S. banks, stepped in to buy Wachovia Corp. on Friday, hours before the House of Representatives was to vote on a $700 billion bailout bill for the financial industry.French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the world stood on the "edge of the abyss," gripped by a global financial crisis now threatening industry, trade and jobs worldwide.
The latest upheaval in the U.S. banking industry came just four days after Citigroup Inc said it would buy Wachovia, and Wells Fargo said it would complete the transaction without government help. U.S. stock index futures rose after the announcement.
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