Bush promises to solve financial crisis

President Bush made a public appeal for trust that the US could cut through the "uncertainty and fear" of the financial crisis today.

He acknowledged the markets meltdown was a worldwide problem and that his meeting with the G7 finance ministers tomorrow was vital.

"The world is sending an unmistakable signal: We're in this together and we will come through this together," he said.

"The US government is acting, we will continue to act to resolve this crisis.

"The Federal Government has a comprehensive strategy. We can solve this crisis and we will."

Mr Bush argued that high anxiety among both investors and the general public about the economy was making the credit crisis more severe.

He acknowledged mounting worry among people about their retirement and investment accounts.

He said the government's financial rescue plan was aggressive enough and big enough to work, but would take time to fully kick in.

"We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal ... We can solve this crisis and we will," he said in the short speech from the White House Rose Garden.

He spoke as leaders of the world's leading economies gathered in Washington amid frozen credit markets, panic selling in stock markets and a looming global recession.

Mr Bush said he understood how Americans could be concerned about their economic future, "that anxiety can feed anxiety and that can make it hard to see all that's being done to solve the problem."