As U.S. financial giants remained mired in trouble and looking to deal, lawmakers battled through a late-night negotiating session on Capitol Hill en route to what appeared to be a deal on the $700 billion bailout plan.

On Saturday afternoon, key players in the Congressional bailout drama said they were on track to have a definitive plan hammered out by the time Asian markets opened Monday.

“We hope sometime tomorrow evening we can announce that there has been some kind of agreement in principle so that the only thing that will have to be done is to write the legislation,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said on the Senate floor.

Congressional staff worked until about 3 a.m. Saturday negotiating the details of the plan, and left “probably 15 issues,” Reid said.

A potential deal was derailed Thursday when Republican Congressional leaders opposed key points during a White House meeting that included presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. Republicans put forth an alternative proposal to offer insurance on mortgage-backed securities along with tax cuts and relaxed regulations to unfreeze credit markets.

By Saturday, though, Bloomberg was reporting that Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said there was a “definite thawing” of opposition by House Republicans who rebelled against Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's proposal to buy bad debts from financial companies.

House minority leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio was holding firm on Republican opposition to any parts of the bailout that would be more beneficial to Wall Street firms.

According to the Wall Street Journal, there were signs Congress and Treasury also remained divided on how to manage the $700 billion authority to buy up toxic assets. Lawmakers want to dole out bailout money in tranches, giving Treasury $250 billion immediately and another $100 billion if needed as certified by the president. The rest, $350 billion, would be subject to a congressional vote.

Treasury chief Paulson is said to be pushing for a larger initial authority, likely around $500 billion.

In hearings earlier this week, elected officials from both parties made clear that they were reluctant to appropriate the huge sum sought by Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke without some measure of review and control over how it was used.

Several news outlets are citing top lawmakers who say the principles submitted to Treasury include the following: limits on executive compensation for the financial firms that receive assistance from the government, a provision that allows the government to take an equity stake in the firms it aids, help for homeowners who are facing foreclosure, and oversight of the bailout process. It also includes tax relief for community banks that were hard hit by their holdings in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.