Bush to Emphasize Economy’s Strengths
President Bush plans this week to emphasize strengths in the economy, such as low inflation and interest rates, after U.S. stock indexes slid last week to their lowest levels since 1997.
Bush will stress that “the economy is fundamentally sound” during a round-table discussion today on the economy at the University of Alabama, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. It’s part of an effort to reassure investors and financial markets, which continued to tumble last week after Bush traveled to Wall Street and promised to crack down on accounting lapses at U.S. companies.
Bush’s promise to improve corporate behavior won little support from his congressional opponents.
About half of Americans, or 51%, approve of the way Bush is responding to accounting lapses at U.S. companies, and 32% disapprove, according to a Newsweek poll conducted July 11 and 12. Twenty-one percent of Americans think the economy is in good shape, the poll said.
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