His lawyers filed an emergency appeal with Justice Stephen Breyer after the federal appeals court in Denver turned down Nachio's latest bid to stay out of prison while he asks the high court to review his conviction in 2007 involving the sale of $52 million worth of stock in Qwest Communications International Inc.

Nacchio has been ordered to report to a prison camp in Minersville, Pa., by noon Tuesday to start a six-year term.

He says he should be allowed to remain free pending the Supreme Court's consideration of his case because there is a reasonable chance the justices will agree to consider overturning the conviction.

Federal prosecutors have opposed Nacchio's request.

They have said Nacchio hasn't met the requirement of showing that his Supreme Court appeal would probably win him a new trial or acquittal.

Investors reignited the market's two-week rally, cheering the government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books. They're also pleased with a report showing a surprising increase in existing home sales last month.

The Dow has ended the day up 497 points at 7,775 after rising more than 500 just before the closing bell. That was its biggest point gain in more than four months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 54 at 822 and the Nasdaq composite is up 98 at 1,555.

More than 2,800 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while just 262 fell. Volume came to a very heavy 1.91 billion shares.

Hawaii Superferry, which operates an Oahu-Maui catamaran that can accommodate 836 passengers and about 200 vehicles, was forced into the move Monday.

The high court rejected a state law that allowed the company to operate while an environmental study is being conducted.

Superferry said in a statement that it was "hugely disappointed" in the decision.

In order to proceed prudently, the company said it had "decided to cease operations for the present."

Superferry says it will make one additional Honolulu-Maui round trip Thursday to get vehicles back to their home islands.

In a conversation focused heavily on the economy, Obama met in the Oval Office with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It was the latest in a series of talks the president has had with his counterparts around the world before a pair of international meetings where the economic crisis will dominate.

Both leaders will attend the Group of 20 countries summit in London on April 2, and the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in mid-April.

Obama said the notion that the U.S. and Europe are already taking sides, with America pushing for more stimulus spending and European nations favoring tighter regulation of the financial industry, is a "phony debate."

U.S. District Judge Marcia S. Krieger on Wednesday told Nacchio to report to the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill satellite camp in Minersville, Pa., by noon March 23.

A jury convicted Nacchio in 2007 of 19 counts of insider trading while acquitting him on 23 counts of the same charge.

Federal prosecutors alleged Nacchio sold $52 million worth of stock at a time when he knew Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. was at risk while other investors did not.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in a 2-1 ruling, saying the trial judge improperly barred a defense expert from testifying. The full appeals court last week disagreed and upheld Nacchio's conviction. The full court ruled 5-4 that the judge was within his discretion.

Nacchio's attorney, Maureen Mahoney, has indicated an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is likely. Nacchio also has challenged his sentence.

Mahoney was in a meeting Wednesday afternoon and did not immediately return messages seeking comment.