The federal government announced two new programs totaling $800 billion as part of its efforts to revive the U.S. financial system and avoid a prolonged recession, the Associated Press reported.

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department today announced a program to lend up to $200 billion to holders of securities backed by various types of consumer loans, such as credit cards and automobile and student loans. The program is designed to help boost demand for these securities, thereby lowering interest rates for consumers and making these loans more available. The program will be supported by $20 billion in credit protection as part of the $700 billion government rescue fund.

In the second program, the government will buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed assets in an attempt to make mortgage loans cheaper and more available. It will purchase up to $100 billion in direct obligations from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, as well as purchase another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities, pools of mortgages sold to investors.

The announcement could boost stock markets today after the Dow Jones industrial average has advanced 11.8 percent in the past two days of trading, the biggest percentage gain since October 1987 after the Black Monday crash. As of 10:45 a.m., the Dow was up 15.29 points to 8,458.68.