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Bush attempts to reassure Americans in radio address

Saturday, October 11, 2008

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George W. Bush, the President of the United States, has attempted to reassure Americans on the economy in his weekly radio address.

"Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market -- much of it driven by uncertainty and fear," he said, introducing the address. "Many Americans have serious concerns about their economic well-being."

George Bush speaking on the economy yesterday
Image: White House.

Bush then pointed out the action that the government is taking. "Here are the problems we face and the steps we are taking: First, key markets are not functioning because there is a lack of liquidity. So the Federal Reserve has injected hundreds of billions of dollars into the system. The Fed has joined with central banks around the world to coordinate a cut in interest rates -- a step that should help free up credit. The Fed has also announced a new program to provide support for a vital tool that many American businesses use to finance their day-to-day operations -- the commercial paper market, which is freezing up. As this program kicks in over the next week or so, it will help revive a key source of short-term financing for businesses and financial institutions."

Listen to the radio address in full
Image: White House.

"Second, some Americans are concerned about whether their money is safe," continued the president. "So the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration have significantly expanded the amount of money insured in savings accounts and checking accounts and certificates of deposit. That means that if you have up to $250,000 in one of these insured accounts, every penny of that money is safe. The Treasury Department has also acted to restore confidence in a key element of America's financial system by offering government insurance for money market mutual funds."

Bush then said that there was an issue with fraud in the economy. He stated that, to address this issue, "the Securities and Exchange Commission is launching rigorous enforcement actions to detect fraud and manipulation in the market."

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday fell to its lowest level in five years at 8,579.19, falling 679 points in one day. This, at 7.3%, is the eleventh largest percentage fall in the history of the index. The growth then continued, with the index being up over 150 points on the start of the day at one point.

The index, did however, recover, and as of 19:30 UTC was up 17.68 points, or 0.21%, pushing the index up to almost 8600.

Market data

12:00, 11 October, 2008 (UTC)
  • DJIA
    		•  8.451,19 Loss 128,00 Loss 1,49%
  • Nasdaq
    		•  1.649,51 Profit 4,39 Profit 0.27%
  • S&P 500
    		•  899,22 Loss 10,70 Loss 1,18%
  • S&P TSX
    		•  9.065,16 Loss 535,02 Loss 5.57%
  • IPC
    		•  19.905,30 Loss 404,93 Loss 1,99%
  • Merval
    		•  1.215,990 Loss 71.340 Loss 5,54%
  • Bovespa
    		•  35.609,54 Loss 1,479.75 Loss 3,99%
  • FTSE 100
    		•  3.932,06 Loss 381,74 Loss 8,85%
  • DAX
    		•  4.544,31 Loss 342,69 Loss 7,01%
  • CAC 40
    		•  3.176,49 Loss 266,21 Loss 7,73%
  • SMI
    		•  5.347,22 Loss 451,62 Loss 7,79%
  • AEX
    		•  258,05 Loss 23,92 Loss 8,48%
  • BEL20
    		•  2.123,44 Loss 117,44 Loss 5,24%
  • MIBTel
    		•  15.438,00 Loss 1,081,00 Loss 6,54%
  • IBEX 35
    		•  8.997,70 Loss 905,20 Loss 9,14%
  • All Ordinaries
    		•  3.939,50 Loss 351,80 Loss 8,20%
  • Nikkei
    		•  8.276,43 Loss 881,06 Loss 9,62%
  • Hang Seng
    		•  14.796,90 Loss 1,146,37 Loss 7,19%
  • SSE Composite
    		•  2.000,57 Loss 74,01 Loss 3,57%

    Sources

     
    Wikinews
    		 Some information contained in this article was obtained from television, radio, or live webcast sources. Reporter's notes and the broadcast source details are available at the collaboration page.
     

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    Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

    Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

    Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

    Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.


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