US, EU markets tumble: Bailout to 'take a while'

GOING UNDER: US markets slid 6 per cent on Monday, diving to its lowest level since 2004.

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New Delhi: The mega $700-billion US bank bailout package, which the US Senate passed a week ago, has not proved to be a quick remedy as global investors had expected.

US markets took a beating in the early trading hours on Monday with the benchmark Dow Industrial Average Index falling below the 10,000 level for the first time in four years, on fears of global economy hurtling into a recession.

Dow Jones lost 800 points before recovering a little lost ground towards the end of trading.

US President George W Bush on Monday said that it "will be a while" before there is stablisation in the financial system.

"It's going to take a while to restore confidence in the financial system. But one thing people can be certain of is that the bill I signed is a big step toward solving this problem," Bush said.

With the US administration ready to implement the landmark bailout deal, Bush said the strategy of the rescue package is to free up credit to get money moving.

"I signed the bill last week. But it's going to take a while to get in place a program that, one, is effective, and, two, that doesn't waste taxpayers' money. We don't want to rush into this situation and not have the program be effective," Bush said.

Bush promised to ensure that the unprecedented financial crisis was never repeated.

"We'll make sure as time goes on this doesn't happen again. In the meantime, we've got to solve the problem. And that's why people sent me to Washington DC. When you see a problem, put a team together and solve it," Bush stressed.

The dreadful numbers

According to analysts, the lack of immediate impact of the US government's $700-bn bailout package, coupled with acute crunch in credit lines for the banks have pulled down the markets.