Bush, allies seek to calm jittery investors

WASHINGTON He began the day shortly after the sun came up with a Rose Garden appearance with G-7 finance ministers and capped it with an evening meeting of the G-20 at the Washington headquarters of the International Monetary Fund. The G-20 consists of the G-7 industrial powers, plus such major developing nations as China, Brazil and India.

Brazil's finance minister says the president stressed the seriousness of the crisis and assured the finance ministers he's doing all he can to spur international action to resolve it. In response, they've pledged deeper cooperation in the regulation and functioning of the world's financial markets.

Earlier, the IMF endorsed a G-7 plan that includes pumping money into the banking system to get credit, the lifeblood of the economy, flowing again.