Bush says financial negotiators made "good headway"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday said negotiators were making "good headway" on legislation to provide an unprecedented $700 billion bailout of financial markets and that he was confident a measure to prevent lasting damage to the economy could be enacted.

"Failure to act would have broad consequences far beyond Wall Street. It would threaten small business owners and homeowners on Main Street," Bush said in a statement.

Administration and congressional negotiators worked through the weekend to craft legislation that would provide the largest bank rescue plan and give sweeping powers to the U.S. Treasury to buy mortgage-related debt from financial firms.

Bush warned against adding unrelated provisions onto the measure and said the world was watching to see whether the United States can act quickly to shore up markets.

"Working together, I am confident we can enact the legislation necessary to prevent lasting damage to our economy and meet the unique challenge facing us today," he said.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria)