Washington: US President George W. Bush has assured his nation that he has a plan to rescue his country and the world from the current finance crisis as the US media predicted the demise of American capitalism.

In brief remarks on Friday from the White House Rose Garden, President Bush announced increasing deposit insurance, expanding loans to corporations and injecting funds into the banking system to steady the market.

“We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal,” he said. “We can solve this crisis and we will.”

Mr Bush 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.

The president plans to meet finance ministers and senior bankers from the Group of Seven — the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada — on Saturday.

Mr Bush noted that major Western economies were working together in an attempt to stabilise markets and end the spreading panic. “Through these efforts, the world is sending an unmistakable signal. We’re in this together and we’ll come through this together.” —Correspondent